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MEMORIALS OF OGLETHORPE. 



" Thy great example will in glory shine, 
A favorite theme with Poet and Divine ; 
Posterity thy merits shall proclaim, 
And add new honor to thy deathless fame." 

On his return from Georgia, 1735. 




Tins ,t ketch was taken in Febjiiury -preceedvn.g fits decease wht-rt. Ke 
■Was readjatfj without spectacles nt the sale 'of ike library or' r>r J. JohMon . 



W.icJ.C Sharps T.ilh. 'Bos/on. 



BIOGRAPHICAL MEMORIALS 



JAMES OGLETHORPE, 



FOUNDER OF THE COLONY OF GEORGIA, 



NORTH AMERICA. 



By THi^DmjS MASON HARRIS, D. D. 

MEMBER OF THE AJpRIC.^ ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES; OF THE 
ARCH^OLOGICAL S^^T-Sf^T ATHENS, GREECE J OF THE MASSACHIT- 
SETTS HISTORICAEf^Cl"^y ; THE NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCI- 
ETY ; THE AMER\g^N ANSIIQUARIAN SOCIETY; AND CORRES- 
PONDING MEMBlyi OF TSfe GEORGIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 




PRINTED FOR 



THOR. 



MDCCCXLI. 




Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1841, by Thaddeus Mason 
Harris, in tlie Clerk's office of tlie District Court of Massacliusetts. 



boston: 

PRINTED BY FREEMAN AND BOLLES, 
WASHINGTON STREET. 



PRESIDENT, THE VICE PRESIDENTS, THE OFFICERS 
AND MEMBERS 

OF THE 

GEORGIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 

THIS WORK IS 

RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED. 



I. K. TEFFT, Esq., WILLIAM B. STEVENS, M. D., 

AND 

A. A. SMETS, Esq., 

OF SAVANNAH; 

WITH A LIVELY SENSE 

OF THE INTEREST WHICH THEY HAVE TAKEN 

IN 

THE PUBLICATION OF THIS WORK, 

THIS PAGE IS INSCRIBED 

BY 

THEIR OBLIGED AND GRATEFUL FRIEND, 

THADDEUS MASON HARRIS. 



PREFACE. 



Having visited the South for the benefit of my health, 
I arrived at Savannah, in Georgia, on the 10th of Feb- 
ruary, 1834; and, indulging the common inquisitiveness 
of a stranger about the place, was informed that just 
one hundred and one years had elapsed since the first 
settlers were landed there, and the city laid out. Re- 
plies to other inquiries, and especially a perusal of 
McCall's History of the State, excited a lively interest 
in the character of General Oglethorpe, who was the 
founder of the Colony, and in the measures which he 
pursued for its advancement, defence, and prosperity. 
I was, however, surprised to learn that no biography 
had been published of the man who projected an under- 
taking of such magnitude and importance ; engaged in 
it on principles the most benevolent and disinterested ; 
persevered till its accomplishment, under circumstances 
exceedingly arduous, and often discouraging ; and lived 
to see " a few become a thousand," and a weak one 
" the flourishing part of a strong nation." 



viii PREFACE. 

So extraordinary did Dr. Johnson consider the adven- 
tures, enterprise, and exploits of this remarkable man, 
that " he urged, him to give the world his life." He 
said, "I know of no man whose life would be more 
interesting. If I were furnished with materials, I would 
be very glad to write it." This was a tlattering offer. 
The very suggestion implied that the great and worthy 
deeds, which Oglethorpe had performed, ought to be 
recorded for the instruction, the grateful acknowledg- 
ment, and just commendation of contemporaries ; and 
their memorial transmitted with honor to posterity. 
" The General seemed unwilling to enter upon it then : " 
but, iipon a subsequent occasion, communicated to Bos- 
well a number of particulars, which were committed to 
writing; but that gentleman "not having been suffi- 
ciently diligent in obtaining more from him," death 
closed the opportunity of procuring all the requisite in- 
formation. 

There was a memoir drawn up soon after his decease, 
which has been attributed to Capel Lofft, Esq., and 
published in the European Magazine. This was after- 
wards adopted by Major McCall ; and, in an abridged 
form, appended to the first volume of his History of 
Georgia. It is preserved, also, as a note, in the second 
volume of Nichols's Literary Anecdotes of the Eigh- 
teenth Century, with some references and additional in- 
formation. But it is too brief and meagre to do justice to 
the memory of one of whom it has been said, " His life 
was full of variety, adventure, and achievement. His 
ruling passions were, the love of glory, of his country. 



PREFACE. ix 

and of mankind ; and these were so blended together 
in his mind that they formed but one principle of action. 
He was a hero, a statesman, an orator; the patron of 
letters, the chosen friend of men of genius, and the 
theme of praise for great poets." ' The writer of this 
elegant encomium, adds this remark: "An authentic 

AND TOLERABLY MINUTE LIFE OF OgLETHORPE IS A DESIDERA- 
TUM." Such a desideratum I have endeavored to sup- 
ply. This, however, has been a very difficult under- 
taking; the materials for composing it, excepting what 
relates to the settlement of Georgia, were to be sought 
after in the periodicals of the day, or discovered by 
references to him in the writings or memoirs of his con- 
temporaries. I have searched all the sources of infor- 
mation to which I could have access, with the aim to 
collect what had been scattered ; to point out what had 
been overlooked ; and, from the oblivion into which 
they had fallen, to rescue the notices of some striking 
incidents and occurrences in the life of Oglethorpe, in 
order to give consistency and completeness to a narra- 
tive of the little that had been preserved and was gener- 
ally known. 

To use the words of one who had experience in a 
similar undertaking : " The biographer of our day is too 
often perplexed in the toil of his researches after ade- 
quate information for composing the history of men 
who were an honor to their age, and of whom posterity 

' GuLiAN Verplanck, Esq. Anniversary Discourse before the New 
York Historical Society, December 7, 1818, page 33. 
h 



X PREFACE. 

is anxious to know whatever may be added to increase 
the meed of that veneration, which, from deficient 
knowledge, they can but imperfectly bestow." 

My collected notices I have arranged so as to form a 
continuous narrative, though with some wide interrup- 
tions. The statements of the most important transac- 
tions have generally been made in the terms of original 
documents, or the publications of the day ; as I deemed 
it more just and proper so to do, than to give them my 
own coloring. And I must apprize the reader, that in- 
stead of aiming to express the recital in the fluency of 
rhetorical diction, or of aspiring to decorate my style of 
composition with studied embellishments, my purpose 

HAS SIMPLY AND UNIFORMLY BEEN TO RELATE FACTS IN THE 

MOST PLAIN AND ARTLESS MANNER ; and I trust that my 
description of scenes and occurrences will be admitted 
to be natural and free from affectation ; and my infer- 
ences, to be pertinent, impartial, and illustrative, I 
hope, too, that it will not be thought that the detail of 
circumstances is needlessly particular, and the relation 
of incidents too minute. For, these, though seemingly 
inconsiderable, are not unimportant; and, though among 
the minor operations of active life, serve to indicate the 
state of existing opinions and prevailing motives, and 
to exhibit the real aspect of the times. They also have, 
more or less, relation to forth-coming events. They are 
foot-prints in the onward march to " enterprises of great 
pith and moment ; " and hence should be carefully traced 
and inspected. Though my authorities are duly noted, 
I have not been so particular as to distinguish every 



PREFACE. xi 

passage which I had transcribed by marks of quotation ; 
and, therefore, being willing that this work should be 
considered as mainly a compilation, with unassuming 
pretensions, entitle it Biographical Memorials. 

After the lapse of more than a century since Ogle- 
thorpe entered on the stage of action, it cannot be ex- 
pected that the varied incidents of so busy, eventful, 
and long protracted a life as was his, can be brought 
out and fully described ; or that the prominent personal 
qualities of so singular a character can be delineated, 
for the first time, with vivid exactness and just expres- 
sion. Not having presumed to do this, I have attempted 
nothing more than a general outline or profile. 

Such as I have been able to make the work, I present 
it to the public. Whatever may be the reception which 
it may meet, I shall never think the moments misspent, 
which were devoted to the purpose of reviving the 
memory of Oglethorpe, and of perpetuating his fame 
by a more full recital of his deeds than had been here- 
itofore made. 

Boston, July 1th, 1838. 

Since the preceding preface was written, the Reverend 
Charles Wallace Howard, who had been commissioned 
by the Legislature of Georgia to procure from the public 
offices in London, a copy of the records of the Trustees 
for the settlement of the Province, and of other colonial 
documents, has returned, having successfully accom- 
plished the object of his mission. It may be thought 
that these are of such importance that all which 1 have 



xii PREFACE. 

done must be defective indeed, unless I avail myself of 
them ; and so, perhaps, it may prove. But my advanced 
old age, my feeble state of health, and other circum- 
stances, prevent my doing so. I console myself, how- 
ever, with the consideration that as they consist of par- 
ticulars relative to the settlement and early support of 
Georgia, to which Oglethorpe devoted not quite eleven 
years of a life extended to nearly a hundred, they would 
only contribute to render more distinct the bright and 
glorious meridian of his protracted day, — while I aimed 
to exhibit its morning promise and its evening lustre; — 
endeavoring to give some account of what he was and 
did forty-four years before he commenced " the great 
emprise," and where he was and how occupied forty- 
two years after its accomplishment. 

Moreover, the official records contain, principally, a 
detail of the plans and measures which were adopted 
and pursued, by the Trustees in London, or comprise 
the statement of public grants of money, and military 
stores and forces ; — and these belong to History, and 
not to Biography. 

The Letters of Oglethorpe, besure, would be exceed- 
ingly interesting ; but I presume that much of what 
they refer to may be collected from pamphlets and peri- 
odicals of the day, where he is spoken of as he would 
not feel free to speak of himself As from these I have 
collected the most material particulars, I cannot think 
that my actual deficiencies in the history of that event- 
ful period can be very considerable or important. 

From a correspondence with I. K. Tefft, Esq. and 



PKEFACE. xiii 

William B. Stevens, M, D., of Savannah, I have ob- 
tained the clearer statement of some important facts and 
occurrences, which is respectfully noticed where intro- 
duced, and for which I render my grateful acknowledg- 
ments. The latter gentleman has also obligingly favored 
me with an article on the culture of silk in Georgia, 
which graces my appendix. 

I have done the best I could with scanty store ; 
Let abler man, with ample means, do more; 
Yet not deficiencies of mine decry, 
Nor make my gatherings his own lack supply. 

May 15^, 1841. 



The date, at the close of the first preface, indicates that the pub- 
lication of this work had been suspended. — A subsequent epistolary 
correspondence, in reference to it, with friends at Savannah, excited 
promptings, which were succeeded by a list of nearly two hundred 
subscribers for the volume in print ; — a list that included the names 
of the most respectable gentlemen of the city, among whom were 
those that held distinguished stations and filled important offices in 
public life. 

For this flattering encouragement and honorary patronage, the 
most grateful acknowledgments are rendered. 



The name of the capital of South Carolina was originally written 
Charles-Town and Charles' Town. At the time of the early settle- 
ment of Georgia it had become blended in the compound word 
Charlestown, which, being found in the documents referred to or 
quoted in this work, is retained here, though of later years it is 
spelt Charleston. 

In the following pages variations occur in the names of persons 
and places, principally in the extracts from German publications. 
This lack of uniformity in some instances, as also a few verbal 
errors in others, was not detected till the sheets had passed the 
press. 

" Acres circumfert centum licet Argus ocellos, 
Non tamen errantes cernat ubique typos." 



CONTENTS. 



The chapters, into which this work is divided, are with reference 
to somewhat distinct portions of the history ; and may be likened 
to a suit of apartments in a capacious house; some large and some 
small, variously furnished, and with different prospects abroad ; but 
yet adjoining each other, and, if but fitly framed together, adapted 
to a duly constructed edifice. 



CHAPTER I. 

Parentage of Oglethorpe — Birth — Christian Name — Educa- 
tion — Military Profession and Promotion — In the Suite of 
the Earl of Peterborough — Service under Prince Eugene of 
Savoy — Elected Member of Parliament — Visits a Gentle- 
man in Prison — Moves in the House of Commons for a 
redress of the rigors of Prison Discipline — Appointed on 
the Committee — Extracts from his Speeches in Parlia- 
mentj 1 — 24 

CHAPTER n. 

Oglethorpe appointed first a Director, and then Deputy Governor 
of the Royal African Company — Takes a compassionate in- 
terest in the situation of an African kidnapped, sold as a slave, 
and carried to Annapolis, in Maryland, a Province in North 



xvi CONTENTS, 

America, who proves to have been an Iman, or assistant 
Priest, of Futa, and was named Job Solomon — Causes him 
to be redeemed, and sent to England, where he becomes ser- 
viceable to Sir Hans Sloane for his knowledge of Arabic ; 
attracts also the notice of persons of rank and distinction, 
and is sent back to Africa, 24 — 38 

CHAPTER HI. 

Project for settling the south-eastern frontier of Carolina — A 
Charter granted for it, by the name of Georgia — Trustees 
appointed, who arrange a plan of Settlement — They receive 
a grant of Money from Parliament, and from Subscriptions 
and Contributions — Oglethorpe takes a lively interest in it — 
States the Object, and suggests Motives for Emigration — A 
Vessel hired to convey the Emigrants — Oglethorpe offers to 
accompany the intended Colonists — His disinterested de- 
votedness to the benevolent and patriotic Enterprise, 38 — 51 

CHAPTER IV. 

The emigrants embark — Arrive at Charlestown, South Caro- 
lina — Oglethorpe visits Governor Johnson — Proceeds up the 
Savannah river — Place of settlement fixed upon — Town 
laid out — Labors superintended, and assisted by Colonel 
Bull — Treaty with Tomo Chichi — Progress of settlement 
— Oglethorpe makes a visit to Goyernor Johnson, presents 
himself before the House of Assembly, and makes an Address 
of grateful acknowledgment of favors received — Returns to 
Savannah — Holds a treaty with the Lower Creeks — Goes 
to horse-quarter on the Ogechee — Fort Argyle built — 
Savannah laid out in wards, and Court of Records insti- 
tuted, 51 — 75 

CHAPTER V. 

Oglethorpe intended to visited Boston, in New England — Go- 
vernor Belcher's Letter to him — Provincial Assembly appoint 



CONTENTS. xvii 

a 'Committee to receive him — Sets out on an exploratory 
Excursion — Names an Island, Jekyl — Visits Fort Argyle 

— Returns to Savannah — Saltzburgh emigrants, conducted 
by Baron Von Reck, come to settle in Georgia — Oglethorpe 
assists them in selecting a place — They call it Ebenezer — 
He then goes up the river to Palachicolas — Returns — Goes 
to Charlestovirn, with Tomo Chichi and other Indians, in 
order to take passage to England, . . . . 75 — 90 

CHAPTER VI. 

Oglethorpe arrives in England with his Indian Escort — Is wel- 
comed by the Trustees — Apartments are provided for the 
Indians — They are introduced to the King and Royal Family 

— One of their number dies of the small pox — Visit the 
Archbishop of Canterbury, and Eton College — Shown the 
public buildings and institutions in London — = Embark for 
Georgia — Their arrival, . . . . .90 — 100 

CHAPTER VII. 

Oglethorpe remains in England — Trustees make Regulations 

— Oglethorpe, desirous of providing for the conversion of the 
Indians, applies to Bishop Wilson to prepare a Book of Re- 
ligious Instruction for them — Trustees seek for Missionaries 

— Engage John and Charles Wesley, . . 100 — 113 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Trustees make a new selection of Settlers — Their Proposals 
successful in Scotland — Embarkation of Highlanders for 
Georgia — Indian hieroglyphic leiter sent to the Trustees — 
Further emigration of Saltzburgers — Great embarkation of 
Colonists, attended by Oglethorpe and the Missionaries' — 
Employment and religious exercises on board during the 
voyage — Arrival — Beacon on the Island of Tybee — The 
people go on shore at Peeper's Island — Oglethorpe goes to 



xviii CONTENTS. 

Savannah with the Missionaries — Sends provisions and 
refreshments to the Emigrants — Moore's account of the 
Public Garden — Tomo Chichi welcomes his friend — Saltz- 
hurgers make application for a removal from Ebenezer — 
Oglethorpe sends pioneers to lay out a road to Darien, 113 — 134 

CHAPTER IX. 

Special destination of the last Emigrants — Oglethorpe makes 
arrangements for their transportation to the Island of St. 
Simons — Follows with Charles Wesley — Arrives and lays 
out a Town to be called Frederica — Visits the Highlanders 
at Darien — Returns and superintends the building of a Fort 
— All the people arrive -^Barracks for the Soldiers put up, 
and a Battery erected — Visited by Torao Chichi, and Indians, 
who make a cession of the Islands — Reconnoitres the Islands 

' and gives names to them — Commissioners from St. Augus- 
tine — Apparently amicable overtures — Oglethorpe goes to 
Savannah to hold a conference with a Committee from South 
Carolina respecting trade with the Indians — Insolent de- 
mand of the Spaniards — Oglethorpe embarks for Eng- 
land, . 134 — 160 

CHAPTER X. 

Delegation of the Missionaries — John Wesley stationed at 
Savannah — Has a conference with Tomo Chichi — His 
Preaching deemed personal in its applications — He becomes 
unpopular — Meets with persecution — Leaves the Province 
and returns to England — Chakles Wesley attends Ogle- 
thorpe to Frederica — Finds himself unpleasantly situated — 
Furnished with despatches for the Trustees, he sets out for 
Charlestown, and thence takes passage for England — By 
stress of Aveather the Vessel driven off its course — Puts in 
at Boston, New England — His reception there — Sails thence 
for England — After a perilous voyage, arrives — Benjamin 



■ CONTENTS. xiX 

Ingham also at Frederica — Goes to Savannah to apprize 
John Wesley of the sickness of his brother — Resides among 
the Creeks in order to learn their language — Returns to 
England — Charles Delamotte at Savannah — Keeps a 
School — Is much respected — George Whitefield comes 
to Savannah — His reception — Visits Tomo Chichi, who 
was sick — Ministerial labors — Visits the Saltzburgers — 
Pleased with their provision for Orphan Children — Visits 
Frederica and the adjacent Settlements — Returns to Eng- 
land — Makes a second voyage to Georgia, and takes efficient 
measures for the erection of an Orphan House, . 160 — 185 

CHAPTER XL 

Oglethorpe arrives in England — Trustees petition the King for 
military aid to the new Colony — A regiment granted — 
Oglethorpe appointed Commander in Chief of South Carolina 
and Georgia — Part of the regiment sent out — Oglethorpe 
embarks for Georgia the third time — Remainder of the regi- 
ment arrive — And two companies from Gibraltar — Pros- 
pect of war with Spain — Military preparations at St. 
Augustine — Oglethorpe makes arrangements for defence — 
Treason in the Camp — Mutiny, and personal assault on the 
General, 185 — 197 

CHAPTER XH. 

Oglethorpe visits Savannah — Troubles there — Causton, the 
store-keeper, displaced — Oglethorpe holds a conference with 
a deputation of Indians — Town-meeting called, and endeav- 
ors used to quiet discontents — Goes back to Frederica, but 
obliged to renew his visit to Savannah, . . . 197 — 209 

CHAPTER Xni. 

Oglethorpe goes to Charlestown, Sduth Carolina, to open his 
Commission — Comes back to Savannah — Gives encourage- 



XX CONTENTS. 

ment to the Planters — Returns to Frederica — Excursion to 
Coweta — Forms a Treaty with the Upper Creeks — Receives 
at Augusta a delegation of the Chickasaws and Cherokees, 
who complain of having been poisoned by the Traders — On 
his return to Savannah is informed of Spanish aggressions, 
and is authorized to make reprisals, . . . 209 — 222 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Oglethorpe addresses a letter to Lieutenant-Governor Bull, sug- 
gesting an expedition against St. Augustine — Follows this, 
by application in person — Promised assistance, and cooper- 
ation — Returns to Frederica — Collects his forces — Passes 
over to Florida — Takes several Spanish forts — Is joined by 
the Carolinian troops — The enemy receive supplies — Ogle- 
thorpe changes the siege into a blockade — Takes possession 
of Anastasia Island — Colonel Palmer and his men surprised 
and cut to pieces — Spanish cruelties — English fleet quit 
the station — Siege raised, and Oglethorpe returns tt Fred- 
erica, 222 — 243 

CHAPTER XV. 

Oglethorpe pays particular attention to internal Improvements 
— Meets with many annoyances — The Creeks, under Too- 
nahowi, make an incursion into Florida — The Spanish form 
a design upon Georgia — Some of their fleet appear on the 
coast — Oglethorpe prepares for defence — Applies to South 
Carolina for assistance — Spaniards attack Fort William — 
Dangerous situation of Oglethorpe — Spanish fleet enter the 
harbor and land on St. Simons — In three successive engage- 
ments they are defeated — A successful stratagem — Enemy 
defeated at Bloody Marsh — Retire and attack Fort William, 
which is bravely defended by Ensign Stewart — Spanish 
forces, repulsed in all their assaults, abandon the invasion in 
dismay, and return to St. Augustine and to Cuba, . 243 — 271 



CONTENTS. Xxi 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Oglethorpe, informed that the Spaniards were making prepara- 
tions for a renewal of hostilities, takes measures to repel 
them — Meets with an alarming accident — Lands on the 
Florida side of St. John's — Proceeds towards St. Augustine 
— The Spanish do not venture out to attack him — Returns 
to the Islands — sees that the Forts are repaired — Takes 
passage to England to attend a Court Martial on an insidious 
charge against him by Lieutenant Cook — Is honorably 
acquitted, and Cook is dismissed from the service, . 271 — 278 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Oglethorpe's residence in England — Marriage — Military 
appointments — A Major General under the Duke of Cum- 
berland for the suppression of the rebellion in 1745 — Ar- 
raigned at a Court Martial and acquitted — Domestic and 
social life, and character — Death, .... 278 — 303 

Obituary notice of Mrs. Elizabeth Oglethorpe, with extracts 

from her Will, 303 — 311 

Account of Carolina and Georgia by Oglethorpe, . 313 — 323 



APPENDIX. 

L Family of Oglethorpe, . . . . . . 325 — 329 

II. Discussion respecting the birth-day of the subject of these 
memorials, 329 — 334 

III. Notices of the Earl of Peterborough, and of Dean Berke- 
ley, 334 — 338 

IV. Reference to the debates in Parliament in which Oglethorpe 
took a part, . .338 — 340 

V. Prison-visiting Committee, . . . . 340 — 343 

VI. Release of insolvent debtors, .... 343 — 346 
yil. Sir Thomas Lombe's mill for winding silk, . 346 — 348 



xxii CONTENTS. 

VIII. Case of Captain Porteous 348 — 349 

IX. Trustees for settling Georgia 349 — 350 

X. Oglethorpe's disinterestedness in the undertaking, 350 — 352 

XI. Advertisement of Governor Johnson of South Carolina, 
and letter of the Governor and Council to Oglethorpe, 352 — 358 

XII. Account of the Creeks, 358 

XIII. Account of the Indians in Georgia by Oglethorpe, 358 — 361 

XIV. Memoir of the Duke of Argyle, . . . 361 — 362 

XV. Saltzburgers, 362 — 365 

XVI. Arrival of these persecuted German Protestants in 
Georgia, .365 — 366 

XVII. Settlement of Moravians, .... 366 — 367 

XVIII. Scout-boat and Channels, .... 367 — 368 

XIX. Uchee Indians, 368 — 369 

XX. A mutiny in the Camp, and attempt at assassina- 
tion, 369 — 373 

XXI. Memoir of Tomo-Chichi, .... 373 — 378 

XXII. General Oglethorpe's manifesto, . . . 378 — 380 

XXIII. Fate of Colonel Palmer, ..... 380 — 381 

XXIV. Account of the siege of St. Augustine, . . 381 — 385 

XXV. Spanish invasion, 385 — 387 

XXVI. Order for a Thanksgiving, .... 387 — 390 

XXVII. List of Spanish forces employed in the invasion of 
Georgia, and of Oglethorpe's to resist them, . . 390 — 391 

XXVIII. History of the silk culture in Georgia, written by 

W. B. Stevens, M. D., of Savannah, . . . 391 — 415 

INDEX, . . . 415 



MEMORIALS OF OGLETHORPE. 



CHAPTER I. 

Parentage of Oglethorpe — Birth — Education — Christian Name — 
Education — Military Profession and Promotion — In the Suite 
of the Earl of Peterborough — Service under Prince Eugene of 
Savoy — Elected Member of Parliament — Visits a Gentleman 
in Prison — Moves in the House of Commons for a redress of 
the rigors of Prison Discipline — Appointed on the Committee — 
Extracts from his Speeches in Parliament. 

James Oglethorpe, founder of the Colony of 
Georgia in North America, — a distinguished phi- 
lanthropist, general, and statesman, — was the son 
of Sir Theophilus Oglethorpe, of Godalming, in 
the County of Surrey, Great Britain, by Eleanor, 
his wife, daughter of Richard Wall, Esq. of Ro- 
gane, in Ireland.^ There has been, hitherto, great 

• For some account of the Family, see Appendix I. 
1 



2 EARLY LIFE. 

uncertainty with respect to the year, the month, 
and the day of his nativity ; I have, however, what 
I deem good authority for deciding it to have been 
the twenty-first day of December, one thousand 
six hundred and eighty-eight.' 

It is asserted in Thoresby's History of Leeds, 
page 255, that " he had two christian names, 
James-Edward, supposed to have been bestowed 
upon him in compliment to the Pretender ; " and 
he is so named on his sepulchral monument. But, 
as he always used but one ; as he was enregistered 
on entering College at Oxford, simply James ; and, 
as the double name is not inserted in any public 
act, commission, document, printed history, or men- 
tion of him in his life time, that I have ever met 
with, I have not thought proper to adopt it. 

When sixteen years of age, on the 9th of July, 
1704, he was admitted a member of Corpus Christi 
College, Oxford,^ where his brother Lewis received 
his education. It seems, however, that, after the 
example of that brother, as also of his brother 

' Appendix IL 

' The record of his admittatur, in the University Register, is, — 
" 1704, Jul. 9, term. S. Trin. Jacobus Oglethorpe, e C. C. C. 16. 
Theoph. f. Sti. Jacobi, Lend. Equ. Aur. filius natu minor." That 
is, " In Trinity Term, July 9, 1704, James Oglethorpe, aged 16, 
youngest son of Sm Theophilus Oglethorpe, of St. Jameses, Lon- 
don, was admitted into Corpus Christi College. 



MILITARY ADVANCEMENTS. 3' 

Theophilus, he early relinquished a literary, for a 
military profession ; and aspired to make his way 
in the world, " tam Marte quam Minerva." 

His first commission was that of Ensign ; and it 
is dated in 1710 ; and he bore that rank in the 
army when peace was proclaimed in 1713.' In 
the same year he is known to have been in the 
suite of the Earl of Peterborough,^ ambassador 
from the Court of Great Britain to the King of 
Sicily and to the other Italian States ; whither he 
was fellow traveller with the Rev. Dr. George 
Berkeley, his Lordship's Chaplain.^ Highly hon- 
orable was such a mark of favor from his Lordship ; 
and peculiarly pleasant and instructive, also, must 
have been such companionship with the amiable 

> Biographical Memoir in the European Magazine, Vol. VIII. 
p. 13. 

* Nichols, in the Literary Anecdotes of the XVIIIth Century, 
Vol. 11. p. 19, says, "he was aid-de-camp;" but as that was the 
title of a military rank, rather than of an attendant on a diplomatic 
ambassador, I have substituted another terra, which however may 
embrace it, if it be really proper. 

' Dr. Berkeley, in a letter to Thomas Prior, Esq., dated Turin, 
January 6, 1714, n. s. says that he travelled from Lyons " in com- 
pany with Col. Du Hamel and Mr. Oglethorpe, Adjutant General of 
the Queen's forces ; who were sent with a letter from my Lord to 
the King's mother, at Turin." Works of George Berkeley, D.D., 
with an Account of his Life. Dublin. 1704. 2 vols. 4to. Vol.1. 

p. XXX. 



4 WITH PRINCE EUGENE. 

and excellent clergyman ; and it afforded opportu- 
nity of concerting plans of usefulness, of benefi- 
cence, and of philanthropy, the object and tendency 
of which were apparent in the after life of each.^ 

In 1714 he was Captain Lieutenant in the first 
troop of the Queen's guards. By his fine figure, 
his soldierly deportment and personal bravery, he 
attracted the notice of the Duke of Marlborough^ 
whose confidence and patronage he seems long to 
have enjoyed, and by whom, and through the influ- 
ence of the Duke of Argyle, he was so recom- 
mended to Prince Eugene, that he received him 
into his service, first as his secretary, and after- 
wards aid-de-camp. Thus near the person of this 
celebrated general, full of ardor, and animated with 
heroic courage, an opportunity was offered him in 
the warlike expedition against the Turks in which 
the Prince was engaged, to gather those laurels in 
what the world calls " the field of glory," to which 
he aspired ; and, in several successive campaigns, 
he exhibited applauded proofs of chivalric gallantry 
and personal bravery. By his attentive observa- 
tion of the discipline, manner of battle array, 
onset of the forces, and the instruction given him 
in military tactics, he acquired that knowledge of 

' Appendix III. 



BATTLE OF PETERWARADIN. 5 

the art of war, for which he afterwards became so 
distinguished. 

At the battle of Peterwaradin, one of the strong- 
est frontier places that Austria had against the 
Turks, Oglethorpe, though present, was not per- 
haps actively engaged. It was fought on the 5th 
of August, 1716. The army of the Turks con- 
sisted of 150,000 men, of which 40,000 were Jan- 
isaries, and 30,000 Saphis, or troopers, the rest 
were Tartars, Walachians, and the troops of Asia 
and Egypt. The army of the Imperialists, under 
his Serene Highness, Prince Eugene, consisted of 
but little more than half that number. The onset 
began at seven in the morning, and by twelve 
Eugene was writing to the Emperor an account of 
the victory in the tent of the Grand Vizier.^ 

After a sharp contest of about four hours, the 
Grand Vizier Hali, seeing the battle go against 
him, put himself at the head of his guard of horse, 
pushed through a defile, and made a very brisk 
charge ; but his men could not sustain the contest ; 
and he, having received two wounds, was carried 

* Military History of Prince Eugene, of Savoy, (a superb work in 
two folio volumes, with elegant plates; compiled by Campbell.) 
Lond. 1737. Vol. 11. p. 215. From this, and from " The Life 
and Military Actions of Eugene,''^ Lond. 1737, 12mo, the account 
of the battles is taken. 



6 TEMESWAER. 

off the field to Carlowitz, where he died the next 
day. The Aga of the Janisaries and Mahomet 
Bassa were also slain. The whole loss of the 
Turks in this action amounted to about 22,000 ; 
and of the Imperialists, 3,695 common soldiers, 
and 469 officers. There was found in the camp 
164 pieces of cannon, and a prodigious quantity of 
powder, bullets, bombs, grenades, and various mil- 
itary equipments and stores ; and the booty in other 
articles was great and rich beyond computation. 

The Imperial army passed the Danube on the 
6th of August, " in order to avoid the infection of 
the dead bodies." The same day a council of war 
was held, in which the siege of Temeswaer was 
proposed and resolved on. This is a town of Hun- 
gary, upon the river Temes, whence it has its name. 
It lies five miles from Lippa, towards the borders 
of Transylvania, and about ten from Belgrade. 
The Turks took it from the Transylvanians in 
1552, and fortified it to a degree that they deemed 
it impregnable. After several severe conflicts, and 
a most desperate resistance, it capitulated on the 
14th of October, 1716, and the Turks entirely 
evacuated the place on the 17th. Thus the capital 
of a region of the same name, was restored to its 
lawful prince after having been in the hands of the 
Turks 164 years. " The success of this victorious 



BATTLE OF BELGRADE. 7 

campaign filled not only Germany, but all Europe 
with joy." On this occasion, Oglethorpe acted as 
aid-de-camp ; and his active service in attendance 
upon Prince Eugene ; his prompt attention to the 
orders dictated to him, or transmitted by him ; his 
alertness and fidelity in communicating them ; and 
his fearless exposure to imminent peril in passing 
from one division of the army to another, gained 
him commendatory acknow^ledgments and the in- 
creased favor of his Serene Highness. 

Notwithstanding these signal victories gained over 
them, the Turks were determined to continue the 
contest ; and the next year the Grand Signior held 
a great Divan at Constantinople to take measures 
for its most vigorous prosecution. These purposes 
being put in train. Prince Eugene undertook the 
siege of Belgrade, their chief strong hold. " The 
Turks advanced to its relief, and besieged him in 
his camp. His danger was imminent; but military 
skill and disciplined valor triumphed over numbers 
and savage ferocity. He sallied out of his intrench- 
ments, and, falling suddenly upon the enemy, routed 
them with great slaughter, and took their cannon, 
baggage, and everything belonging to their camp. 
Belgrade surrendered immediately after." ' On 

^ Russell's Modern Europe, Vol. V. p. 3. 



8 CAPITULATION. 

the 16th of August, (1717) the capitulation was 
signed ; and immediately afterwards the Imperial- 
ists took possession of a gate, and the out-works ; 
on the 19th Te Deum was solemnly performed in 
the tent of the Grand Vizier, which had become 
occupied by Eugene, and on the 22d the place 
was evacuated. The Imperialists found prodigious 
riches in the camp of which they had become pos- 
sessed ; for the Sultan had emptied his coffers to 
supply this army, which was by far the most nu- 
merous of any set on foot since the famous siege of 
Vienna." ^ 

" Such was the conclusion of the siege of Bel- 
grade ; a place of the last importance to the Impe- 
rialists and to the Turks ; the bridle of all the 
adjoining country ; the glorious trophy of the valor 
and conduct of his Serene Highness, Prince Eugene; 
and the bulwark, not of Germany only, but of all 
Christendom on this side." 

" Oglethorpe was in active command at the siege 
and battle of Belgrade, on the south shore of the 
Danube, in 1717 ; where he acquired a high and 
deserved reputation."^ 

In the postscript of a letter from Alexander Pope, 

^ Campbell's Military History of Eugene, Vol. IL p. 233. 
* Gentleman's Magazine for 1785, p. 573. 



ELECTED TO PARLIAMENT. 9 

dated September 8th, 1717, to Edward Blount, 
Esq., is this remark : " I hope you will take part 
in the rejoicing for the victory of Prince Eugene 
over the Turks, &c." to which Dr. Warton subjoins 
this note ; " at which General Oglethorpe was 
present, and of which I have heard him give a 
lively description." 

The peace which took place in the following 
year between the Emperor and the Sultan, left 
Oglethorpe without any active employment ; and 
he quitted, doubtless with reluctance, the staff of 
his friend and patron, prince Eugene, with whom 
he had so honorably served ; and returned to Eng- 
land. 

He was offered preferment in the German ser- 
vice ; but it was, probably, a sufficient reason with 
him for declining the proffer, that " the profession 
of a soldier in time of peace affords but few oppor- 
tunities of promotion, and none of distinction." 

In the year 1722, succeeding his brother Lewis 
in the inheritance of the estate at Godalming, his 
weight of character and family influence secured 
to him a seat in Parliament, as Burgess, for Hasle- 
mere ; and he continued to represent that bo- 
rough, by successive elections, and through various 
changes of administration, for thirty-two years ; 
and, " during this long period, he distinguished 



10 PARLIAMENT. ' 

himself bj several able speeches ; and, in the laws 
for the benefit of trade, &c. many regulations were 
proposed and promoted by him." 

In this august assembly, he was neither a dumb 
show, nor an automaton ; nor the tool of party ; but 
independent, intelligent, and energetic, delivered 
his opinions freely, spoke often, and always to the 
purpose.' 

His first recorded speech was on the 6th of April, 
1723, against the banishment of Dr. Francis Atter- 
bury, the Bishop of Rochester, which he deemed 
injudicious and needlessly rigorous.^ 

A few years after, his feelings of humanity were 
powerfully touched on finding a gentleman, whom 
he went to visit in the Fleet prison, loaded with 
irons, and otherwise cruelly used.^ Shocked by 
the scenes he witnessed, he determined to expose 
such injustice ; and, if possible, to prevent such 
abuse of power. With this view, he brought for- 
ward a motion in the House of Commons, " that 
an inquiry should he instituted into the state of the 
gaols in the metropolis.'''' This met with such at- 
tention, that in February, 1728, the House of Com- 

' See Appendix IV. 

* History and Proceedings of the House of Commons, Load. 
1742, Vol. VI. p. 308. 
^ Sir William Rich, Baronet. 



COMMITTEE ON PRISONS. H 

mons assigned the subject to a Committee, of which 
he was chosen Chairman.' The investigation led 
to the discovery of many corrupt practices, and 
much oppressive treatment of the prisoners ; and 
was followed by the enactment of measures for the 
correction of such shameful mismanagement and 
inhuman neglect in some cases, and for the preven- 
tion of severity of infliction in others.^ 

A writer, whose opinion was founded on the best 
means of knowledge, has declared that " the effects 
of this interposition have been felt ever since by 
the unhappy prisoners."^ 

Oglethorpe thus became the precursor of Howard, 
the philanthropist, in the cause of humanity, as it 
regards the amelioration of prison discipline in 
general, especially the rigors of close confinement 
for debt or petty offences, and that among felons 
and convicts. The impression then made on his 
mind and heart, led him, afterwards, to other and 
more extensive and efficacious measures for the 
relief of poor debtors from the extortions and op- 
pressions to which they were subjected by gaolers, 
and from the humiliation and distress in which they 
were often involved without any fault of their own. 



* Appendix IV. * Appendix V. 

' Gentleman's Magazine for 1785, page 572. 



12 KING'S SPEECH. 

or bj some conduct which deserved pity rather 
than punishment. 

At the opening of the session of Parliament on 
the 12th of January, 1731, the King's speech was 
the subject of debate in the House of Commons. 
A motion was made for an address of thanks, in 
which they should declare their entire approbation 
of his Majesty's conduct, express their confidence 
in the wisdom of his counsels, and announce their 
readiness to grant the necessary supplies. There 
were some who opposed the motion. They did 
not argue against a general vote of thanks, but inti- 
mated the impropriety, and, indeed, ill tendency of 
expressions which implied an unquestioning appro- 
bation of the measures of the ministry. In refer- 
ring to this, Smollet ^ says, " Mr. Oglethorpe, a 
gentleman of unblemished character, brave, gener- 
ous, and humane, affirmed that many other things 
related more immediately to the honor and interest 
of the nation, than did the guarantee of the Prag- 
matic sanction. He said that he wished to have 
heard that the new works at Dunkirk had been 
entirely razed and destroyed ; that the nation had 
received full and complete satisfaction for the depra- 
dations committed by the natives of Spain ; that 

' History of England, Book H. chap. iv. ^ xxx. 



GERMAN PROTESTANTS. 13 

more care was taken in the disciplining of the 
militia, on whose valor the nation must chiefly 
depend in case of an invasion ; and that some 
regard had been shown to the oppressed Protestants 
in Germany. He exjpressed his satisfaction, how- 
ever, to find that the English Were not so closely 
united to France as formerly, for he had generally 
observed that when two dogs were in a leash to- 
gether, the stronger generally ran away with the 
weaker ; and this, he feared, had been the case 
between France and Great Britain." 

The motion, however, was carried, and the ad- 
dress presented. 

Possessing a vein of wit, Oglethorpe was apt to 
introduce piquant illustrations and comparisons into 
his narratives, and sometimes with the view of their 
giving force to his statements ; but, though they 
might serve to enliven conversation, they were not 
dignified enough for a speech in so august an assem- 
bly as that he was now addressing. They are, how- 
ever, atoned for, on this occasion, by the grave tenor 
of his preceding remarks, which were the dictates 
of good sense, the suggestions of sound policy, and, 
especially, by the reference to the distressed situa- 
tion of the persecuted German Protestants which 
was evincive of a compassionate consideration, truly 
honorable to him as a man and a christian. And 



14 CONSTITUTIONAL MILITIA. 

we shall find, that, in behalf of these, he afterwards 
exerted a personal and availing influence. 

In 1732 he made a spirited and patriotic effort 
in Parliament to restore a constitutional militia ; 
and to abolish arbitrary impressment for the sea- 
service ; and, on this subject, he published a 
pamphlet entitled " The Sailor's Advocate," for 
which Mr. Sharpe obliged him with a sarcastic 
preface. 

In the debate on the bill for encouraging the 
trade of the British sugar colonies, Oglethorpe took 
an active part, and manifested those liberal and 
patriotic views, and that regard for the colonial 
settlements in North America, which, afterwards, 
became with him a decided principle. 

" In all cases," said he, " that come before this 
House, where there seems a clashing of interests, 
we ought to have no exclusive regard to the particu- 
lar interest of any one country or set of people, but 
to the good of the whole. Our colonies are a part 
of our dominions. The people in them are our own 
people ; and we ought to show an equal respect to 
all. If it should appear that our Plantations upon 
the continent of America are against that which is 
desired by the sugar colonies, we are to presume 
that the granting thereof will be a prejudice to the 
trade or particular interests of our continental settle- 



ON THE SUGAR COLONIES. 15 

ments. And, surelj, the danger of hurting so con- 
siderable a part of our dominions, — a part which 
reaches from the 34th to the 46th degree of north 
latitude, — will, at least, incline us to be extremely 
cautious in what we are going about. If, therefore, 
it shall appear that the relieving our sugar colonies 
will do more harm to the other parts of our domin- 
ions, than it can do good to them, we must refuse 
it, and think of some other method of putting them 
upon an equal footing with their rivals in any part 
of trade. 

" Our sugar colonies are of great consequence 
to us ; but our other colonies in that part of the 
world ought also to be considered. From them we 
have, likewise, yearly, large quantities of goods. 
We ought not to raise one colony upon the de- 
struction of another. Much less ought we to grant 
a favor to any particular set of people which may 
prove to be against the public good of the nation 
in general." 

To these, and other matters of general moment, 
Oglethorpe devoted his time, his talents, and his 
influence while in Parliament. He earnestly sup- 
ported the cause of silk manufacture, which had 
then begun to spread in England by means of the 
improvement introduced by Sir Thomas Lombe, in 
the invention of his large engines, which are de- 



16 CORPORATION FOR LENDING MONEY. 

scribed as being of " a most curious and intricate 
structure," ' but which in our own day, when me- 
chanical ingenuity has reached a high degree of 
excellence, and machinery seems itself almost an 
intelligent principle, would, probably, be regarded 
as merely " curious and intricate," without possess- 
ing any practical value.^ 

A Corporation was formed in London, in 1707, 
with the professed intention of lending money to 
the poor on small pledges, and to persons of better 
rank, upon an answerable security, for setting them 
up, or assisting them in business. Its capital was 
then limited to £30,000, but in 1730 increased to 
£600,000, and a charter granted to the Corporation, 
by act of Parliament. But in October 1731, two 
of the chief officers, George Robinson, Esq., mem- 
ber for Marlow, the Cashier, and John Thompson, 
the Warehouse keeper, disappeared on the same 

' The 6th of the excellent Essays by the Rev. Jared Eliot, 
on Field Husbandry, &c., 1761, is devoted principally to recommenda- 
tions of the culture of mulberry trees for the raising of silk-worms. 
In page 161, is a reference to Sir Thomas Lombe, "that eminent 
throwster, who erected the great engine in Derbyshire ; a wonderful 
structure, consisting of twenty-nine thousand five hundred and 
eighty-six wheels, all set a going and continued in motion by one 
single water-wheel, for working silk with expedition and success." 
See also Appendix VII. 

* Manuscript lecture of J. Willard, Esq. 



OGLETHORPE'S SPEECH. 17 

day. This gave the Proprietors great alarm ; and 
an inspection of affairs led to the discovery that for 
a capital of about £500,000, no equivalent was 
found to the value of £30,000 ; the remainder hav- 
ing been disposed of by ways and means of which 
no one could give an account. In consequence of 
this defalcation, a petition of the Proprietors was 
presented to the Parliament alleging that some 
who had been guilty of these frauds had transported 
themselves to parts beyond the seas, and carried 
with them some of the books and effects of the 
Corporation ; and that there was great reason to 
believe that such an immense sum of money could 
not have been embezzled without the connivance 
and participation of others who remained in the 
kingdom ; but that the petitioners were unable to 
come at the knowledge of their combinations or to 
bring them to justice, unless aided by the power 
and authority of that House ; and therefore prayed 
that it might be afforded. 

On the reading of the petition, Mr. Oglethorpe 
rose and spoke as follows : 

" Sir, I am persuaded that this petition will be 
received in a manner befitting the unhappy case of 
the sufferers and the justice of this House. I can 
hardly suspect that any gentleman that has the 
honor of being a member of this House will hesi- 



18 SPEECH CONTINUED. 

tate in giving all the relief which we can to the 
number of unfortunate persons, who have been so 
much injured. Yet, because I have heard it whis- 
pered out of doors, that we ought not to receive 
this petition upon account, as is pretended, that the 
common seal is not affixed to it, I deem it necessary 
to take some notice of that objection, in case it 
should be started here. Sir, I must say that if 
there be any irregularity as to the affixing the seal 
of the Company to this petition, it is, in my opin- 
ion, so far from being an objection to our receiving 
the petition, that it is a very strong reason for it. 
If there be any fault in form, it is the fault of those 
who had the keeping of the common seal ; and, as 
they may, perhaps, be of those against whom the 
complaints are made, and who may, upon inquiry, 
be found more or less amenable for the wrong, we 
are, therefore, to suspect that the withholding the 
seal may be with a view of preventing the truth's 
being brought to light ; at any rate, we ought 
to discountenance and defeat such indirect prac- 
tices with regard to the use of a common seal. 

" For my own part, sir, I have been always for 
encouraging the design upon which this corporation 
was at first estabhshed ; and looked upon it as a 
provident act of charity to let necessitous persons 
have the opportunity of borrowing money upon 



PORTEOUS CASE. 19 

easier terms than they could have it elsewhere. 
Money, like other things, is but a commodity, and 
in the way of dealing, the use of it is looked upon 
to be worth as much as people can get for it. If 
this corporation let persons in limited circumstances 
have the use of money at a cheaper rate than indi- 
viduals, brokers, or money lenders, would be willing 
to do, it was certainly a beneficent act. If they 
had demanded more than was elsewhere given, they 
would not have had applicants, and the design 
would not have proved good and useful ; but the 
utility of it was most evident ; and the better the 
design, and the more excellent the benefit, the 
more those persons deserve to be punished, who by 
their frauds have curtailed, if not now wholly cut 
off, these sources of furnishing assistance to the in- 
dustrious and enterprising, and disappointed the 
public of reaping the benefit which might have 
accrued by an honest and faithful execution of so 
good an undertaking."^ ■ 

Another subject in the parliamentary discus- 
sions of Oglethorpe which I shall mention, is his 
defence of the magistracy and town-guard of the 
city of Edinburgh against an arraignment in the 
House of Lords, for what was deemed the neg- 

' History and Proceedings of the House of Commons, Vol. VH. 
p. 154. 



20 PORTEOUS CASE. 

lect of prompt and energetic measures for suppres- 
sing the riotous seizure and murder of Captain 
Porteous bj an exasperated mob. The circum- 
stances were these. 

After the execution in the Grass-market, on the 
14th of April, 1736, of one Andrew Wilson, a 
robber, the town-guard, which had been ordered 
out on the occasion, was insulted by rude and 
threatening speeches, and pelted with stones, by 
the mob. John Porteous, the captain, so resented 
the annoyance, that he commanded his men to 
fire over their heads, to intimidate them ; and then, 
as their opposition became violent, he directed the 
guard to fire among them ; whereby six persons 
were killed, and eleven severely wounded. For 
this he was prosecuted at the expense of the city, 
and condemned to die. But, a short reprieve hav- 
ing been obtained, the mob, determined to defeat 
it, assembled in the night preceding the seventh 
day of September, whereon he was to have been 
executed pursuant to the sentence, and, in a very 
riotous manner, seized and disarmed the city-guard, 
and possessed themselves of the town-gates, to 
prevent the admission of troops quartered in the 
suburbs. They then rushed to the Tolbooth prison ; 
the doors of which not yielding to the force of their 
hammers, they consumed by fire, and then brought 



PORTEOUS bASE. 21 

forth Porteoiis by violence, and hung him on a 
djer's post, or frame, in the Grass-market, nigh the 
spot where the unfortunate people were killed. 

The magistrates, attended with several of the 
burgesses, attempted to quell the riot and disperse 
the mob, but were pelted with stones, and threat- 
ened to be fired upon if they did not retire. 

This insult of the sovereign authority was too 
flagrant to be overlooked. Proclamations, with 
rewards of two hundred pounds sterling, were is- 
sued for apprehending the rioters, and, when the 
Parliament met, vigorous measures were taken in 
the affair. The Lord Provost was ordered up to 
London in custody ; the magistrates summoned to 
answer the indictment, and a bill was introduced 
into the House of Commons " to disable Alexander 
Wilson, Esq., the principal magistrate during the 
riots, from ever after holding any office of magis- 
tracy in Edinburgh or Great Britain ; to subject him 
to imprisonment for a year ; to abolish the town 
guard, and to take away the gates of the nether 
Bowport of the city." Oglethorpe objected to the 
first reading of the bill, and it encountered his 
vigorous opposition. He engaged in a warm de- 
fence of the magistrates, and of the guard, declar- 
ing that there was no dereliction of duty on the 
part of the magistrates and of the guard, but they 



22 MORAVIANS' PETITION. 

were overpowered by numbers, and thrown into 
actual jeopardy by the desperation of the mob. 
Hence the penalties of the bill would be the punish- 
ment of misfortune, not of crime. 

In consequence of the stand which he thus took, 
and the interest made by others in the House of 
Commons, the bill was altered in its most essential 
circumstances, and, instead of the rigorous inflic- 
tions, " mercy rejoiced against judgment," and the 
city was fined the sum of two thousand pounds, to 
be. applied to the relief and support of the widow 
of Porteous.^ 

A petition was made to Parliament " to extend 
the benefit of a late act for naturalizing foreigners 
in North America, to the Moravian Brethren and 
other foreign Protestants who made a scruple of 
taking an oath, or performing military service." 
General Oglethorpe, in the spring of 1737, pre- 
sented the petition to the House of Commons, with 
an ample speech, and was supported by many mem- 
bers. The opinion of the Board of Trade was 
required on this head. The Proprietor of Penn- 
sylvania promoted the affair among the members 
of Parliament, and especially with the Secretary of 
State, the Duke of Newcastle, by his good testi- 

^ See Appendix VIII. 



PLEA FOR MORAVIANS. 23 

monies of the brethren in Pennsylvania. The 
matter of the bill was properly discussed, formed 
into an act, and, having passed, w^ith the greatest 
satisfaction, through both houses, received in June, 
1747, the Royal assent.' 

On the 20th of February, 1749, another petition 
in behalf of the Moravians was presented to the 
House of Commons ; and was supported by a lotig 
and highly impressive speech by Oglethorpe con- 
cerning the origin of their church, their constitution, 
their pious and benevolent labors, and particularly, 
what he was most apprized of, their peaceable and 
useful settlements in America. On the 18th of 
April, the engrossed bill was read the third time in 
the House, was passed, nemine contradicente, and 
ordered to be carried to the House of Lords. On 
the 21st of April, the bill was carried by sixteen 
members of the House of Commons to the House 
of Lords ; and, after a short address by Oglethorpe, 
their leader, to Lord Chancellor Hardwicke, was 
accepted with great solemnity, and laid on the 
table. After due consideration, the act was passed, 
and on the 6th of June the Royal assent was given 
to it." 

* Ceanz's History of the United Brethren, translated by La Trobe, 
Lond. 1780, p. 331. 



CHAPTER II. 

Oglethorpe appointed first a Director, and then Deputy Governor of 
the Royal African Company — Takes a compassionate interest in 
the situation of an African kidnapped, sold as a slave, and car- 
ried to Annapolis, in Maryland, a Province in North America — 
But proves to have been an Iman, or assistant Priest, of Futa, 
and was named Job Solomon — Causes him to be redeemed, and 
sent to England, where he becomes serviceable to Sir Hans Sloane 
for his knowledge of Arabic; attracts also the notice of persons 
of rank and distinction, and is sent back to Africa. 

In January, 1731, Oglethorpe was chosen a Director 
of the Rojal African Companj, and the next year 
Deputy Governor. This situation brought to his 
knowledge the circumstances of an African slave, 
whose story is so interesting, that a few pages may 
be allowed for its recital. 

A negro, called Job, was purchased on the coast 
of Africa by Captain Pyke, commander of a vessel 
belonging to Mr. Hunt, a rich merchant of Liver- 
pool, and carried to Annapolis, Maryland, where, 
with others, he was delivered to Michael Denton, 
the factor of Hunt, who sold him to Mr. Tolsey. 



JOB SOLOMON. 25 

He was at first employed in the cultivation of to- 
bacco ; but his humane master perceiving that he 
could not bear the fatigue, rendered his situation 
more tolerable by charging him with the care of 
his cattle. While in this employment, he used to 
retire, at stated times, to the recesses of a wood, to 
pray. He was seen there by a white boy, who 
amused himself with interrupting him, and often 
with wantonly insulting him by throwing dust in 
his eyes. This greatly added to Job's melancholy, 
which was increased by his having no means of 
making known the annoyance and abuse to which he 
was subjected, so that he grew desperate, and made 
his escape. He travelled through the woods till 
he came to the county of Kent, on Delaware bay, 
in Maryland, where, having no pass, and not being 
able to give any account of himself, he was taken 
up as a fugitive slave, and put into prison. While 
there, his behavior attracted more than common 
notice. Besides a stateliness of bearing, and an 
air of self-importance, which shew that he could 
be no ordinary person, he was observed to use 
prostrations at regular periods of the day, and to 
repeat sentences with great solemnity and earnest- 
ness. Curiosity attracted to the prison certain 
English merchants, among whom Mr.Thomas Bluet 
was the most inquisitive. He was able, from an 



26 JOB SOLOMON. 

old negro, who was a Foulali,^ and understood the 
language of Job, to obtain some information re- 
specting his former condition and character. These 
particulars were communicated to his master Tol- 
sey, who had been apprized of his capture, and 
come to reclaim him. In consideration, therefore, 
of what he had been, he not only forebore inflicting 
punishment on him for desertion, but treated him 
with great indulgence. Having ascertained that 
Job had in his possession certain slips of a kind of 
paper, on which he wrote strange characters, he 
furnished him with some sheets of paper, and signi- 
fied a wish that he should use it. Job profited of 
his kindness, to write a letter to his father. This 
was committed to Denton, to entrust to his captain 
on the first voyage which he should make to Africa ; 
but he having sailed for England, it was sent en- 
closed to Mr. Hunt, at London. When it arrived 
there, Captain Pyke was on his voyage to Africa. 
Here, however, it was shewn to the Governor of 
the Royal African Company, and thus it " fell into 
the hands," says my author, " of the celebrated 
Oglethorpe,^ who sent it to the University of Ox- 
ford to be translated, as it was discovered to be 

' In the relation which I follow this appellation is written 
Pholey. 
* Bluet. 



JOB SOLOMON. 27 

written in Arabic. The information which it im- 
parted of the disastrous fate of the writer, so 
awakened his compassion, that he engaged Mr. 
Hunt, by an obligation to refund all expenses, to 
have Job redeemed, and brought to England. This 
was immediately attended to, and he was sent in 
the WiUiam, commanded by captain Wright, and 
in the same vessel was Mr. Bluet, who became so 
attached to him, that, on their landing, he went 
with him to London, where they arrived in April, 
1733. As he did not find Oglethorpe, who had 
gone to Georgia, Bluet took him to his own house 
at Cheshunt, in Hertfordshire. There Job recom- 
mended himself by his manly and courteous be- 
havior ; and applied himself so diligently to learn 
the English language, that he was soon able to 
speak, and even write it with correctness. 

In the mean time a letter was sent in his behalf 
by Oglethorpe to the African Company, requesting 
them to take up his obligation to Mr. Hunt, and to 
pay the expenses of his voyage and accommodation 
after his arrival ; and to answer the bills of Mr. 
Bluet for his keeping and instruction, till he him- 
self should return. This was readily done, and his 
emancipation effected for forty pounds ; and twenty 
pounds, bond and charges, were raised by subscrip- 
tion. 



28 JOB SOLOMON. 

Job's knowledge of Arabic rendered him ser- 
viceable to Sir Hans Sloane, who often employed 
him in translating Arabic manuscripts, and inscrip- 
tions upon medals. To bring him into due notice, 
Sir Hans had him dressed in the costume of his 
country, and presented to the king and royal family ; 
by whom he was graciously received ; and her 
majesty gave him a beautiful gold watch. The 
same day he dined with the Duke of Montague ; 
who afterwards took him to his country seat, where 
he was shewn, and taught the use of, the tools em- 
ployed in agriculture and gardening. The same 
nobleman procured for him a great number of these 
implements, which were put into cases, and carried 
aboard the vessel in which he was to return to his 
native country. He received various other presents 
from many persons ; some of these, according to 
Mr. Moore, were their Royal Highnesses, the Earl 
of Pembroke, several ladies of distinction, Mr. 
Holden, and members of the Royal African Com- 
pany. 

In the reference to him in Nichols's Literary 
Anecdotes, vi. p. 91, it is said " he returned home 
loaded with presents to the amount of five hundred 
pounds." After having passed fourteen months in 
England, he embarked, in the month of July, 1734, 
on board a vessel belonging to the Royal African 



JOB SOLOMON. 29 

Company, which was bound for the river Gambia, 
and carried out Thomas Moore to accomplish some 
business at a Factory of the Company's at Joar, 
to whose particular care Job was committed. 

While in England, his friend Bluet, collected 
from Job the history of his life, which he published,^ 
and from which some of the preceding, and several 
of the following particulars are extracted. 

The name of this extraordinary man was Ayoub 
Ibn Soliman Ibrahim, that is. Job the son of 
Solomon the son of Abraham. His nation was 
that of the Jalofs ; his tribe, or cast, the Pholey, 
or Foulah ; and his native place Bunda, a city of 
Galumbo, in the kingdom of Futa, in Central Africa, 
opposite Tombuto.^ 

Ibrahim, the grandfather of Job, was the founder 
of the city of Bunda, during the reign of Abubeker, 
then king of Futa ; who gave him the proprietor- 
ship and government of it, with the title of Alfa or 
High Priest. After his death, the dignity, which 
was hereditary in the family, passed to the father 

' Memoirs of the Life of Job, the son of Solomon, the High Priest 
of Bunda, in Africa. By Thomas Bluet. London, 1734 ; 8vo., 
dedicated to the Duke of Montague. 

* The affix to his name is sometimes spelt Jalla, Jalof, and 
Dgialla, These indicate the name of the tribe, or nation, to 
which he belonged ; which was that of the Jalofs, on the river 
Sanaga, and along the Gambia. 



30 JOB SOLOMON. 

of Job. On the decease of Abubeker, his brother, 
the Prince of Jelazi, succeeded to the royalty ; he, 
being already the father of a son, entrusted him to 
the care of Soliman, the father of Job, to have him 
taught the Arabic language, and the Alcoran. Job 
became, in this way, the fellow student and com- 
panion of this young prince. Jelazi lived but a 
short time, and was succeeded by his son. 

When Job had attained the age of fifteen, he as- 
sisted his father in the capacity of Iman, or inferior 
priest, and soon after married the daughter of the 
Alfa of Tombuto. By her he had three sons, 
Abdallah, Ibrahim, and Sambo. Two years before 
his captivity he took a second wife, the daughter 
of the Alfa of Tomga ; by whom he had a daughter 
named Fatima. His two wives and his four child- 
ren were alive when he left Bunda. 

In the month of February, 1730, the father of 
Job, having learnt that an English vessel had ar- 
rived in the Gambia, sent his son thither, attended 
by two domestics, to procure some European com- 
modities ; but charged him not to cross the river, 
because the inhabitants of the opposite bank were 
Mandingoes, enemies of the kingdom of Futa. 

Job, coming to no agreement with Captain Pyke, 
the commander of the English vessel, sent back 
his two domestics to Bunda, to render an account 



JOB SOLOMON. 31 

of his affairs to his father, and to inform him that 
his curiosity induced him to travel further. With 
this view he made a contract with a negro mer- 
chant, named Loumein-Yoa, who understood the 
language of the Mandingoes, to serve him as an 
interpreter and guide on a pacific expedition and 
overture. Having passed the river Gambia, when 
the heat compelled him to avail himself of the cool- 
ing shade of the forest, he suspended his arms upon 
a tree, to rest himself. They consisted of a sabre, 
with a handle of gold ; a dagger in a sheath, with 
a hilt of the same metal ; and a rich quiver filled 
with arrows, of which king Sambo, the son of 
Jelazi, had made him a present. " His evil des- 
tiny willed " ^ that a troop of Mandingoes, accus- 
tomed to pillage, should pass that way, who, dis- 
covering him unarmed, seized him, shaved his head 
and chin ; and, on the 27th of February, sold him, 
with his interpreter, to Captain Pyke ; and, on the 
first of March, they were put on board the vessel. 
Pyke, however, learning from Job that he was the 
same person who had attempted to trade with him 
some days before, and that he was a slave only by 
having been kidnapped, gave him leave to ransom 



' This is the explanation of Job, who being a Mahometan, was a 
fatalist in his belief. 



32 JOB SOLOMON. 

himself and his companion. Accordingly, Job im- 
mediately sent to a friend of his father, who dwelt 
at Joar, where the vessel then lay, to beseech him 
to send news of his captivity. But the distance 
being fifteen days journey, the Captain, after wait- 
ing some time, found it necessary to set sail, and 
the unfortunate Job was carried off, and sold,, as has 
been already mentioned. 

He is described as being a fine figure, five feet 
ten inches in height ; of a pleasing but grave coun- 
tenance, and having strait black hair.^ His natural 
qualities were excellent. He was possessed of a 
solid judgment, a ready and wonderfully retentive 
memory, an ardent love for truth, and a sweet dis- 
position, mild, affectionate, and grateful. His reli- 
gion was Mahometanism ; but he rejected the idea 
of a sensual paradise, and several other traditions j 
that are held among the Turks. The foundation 
of his principles was the unity of God ; whose name 
he never pronounced without some particular indi- 
cation of respect. " The ideas which he held of 



* There is a scarce octavo portrait of him, head and shoulders 
only, etched by the celebrated painter, Mr. Hoare, of Bath, in 1734, 
as appears by a manuscript note on the impression of it in Mr. 
Bindley's possession. Under the print is engraved, " Job, son of 
Solliman Dgialla, high priest of Bonda, in the country of Foota, 
Africa." 



JOB SOLOMON. 33 

the Supreme Being and of a future state, appeared 
very reasonable to the English ; but he was so firm 
in the persuasion of the divine unity, that it was 
impossible to get him to reason calmly upon the 
doctrine of the Trinity. A New Testament in 
Arabic had been given him. He read it ; and, giv- 
ing his ideas, respectfully, concerning it, began by 
declaring that having examined it carefully, he 
could not find a word from which he could conclude 
that there were three Gods." ^ 

Job landed at Fort English on the 8th of August, 
1734. He was recommended particularly by the 
Directors of the Royal African Company to the 
Governor and Factors. They treated him with 
much respect and civility. The hope of finding 
one of his countrymen at Joar, induced him to set 
out on the 23d in the shallop with Mr. Moore, who 
was going to take the direction of the factory there. 
On the 26th at evening they arrived at the creek 
of Damasensa. Whilst Job was seated under a 

^ "II etoit si ferme dans la persuasion de l'unit6 divine, qu'il fut 
impossible de le faire raisonner paisiblement sur la Trinit6. On 
lui avoit donn6 un Nouveau Testament dans sa langue, il le lut, et 
s'expliquant, avec respect, sur ce livre, il commenpapar declarer que 
I'ayant examin6 fort soigneusement, il n'y avoit pas trouv6 un mot 
d'ou I'on fuit conclure qu'il y eut trois dieux." Histoire ginirale 
des Voyages, par V Abbe A. F. 'PntvosT. 4to. Paris. 1747. Tom. 
III. p. 116. 

5 



34 JOB SOLOMON. 

tree with the English, he saw seven or eight ne- 
groes pass of the nation that had made him a slave, 
thirty miles from that place. Though he was of a 
mild disposition, he could hardly refrain from at- 
tacking them with his sabre and pistols ; but Moore 
made him give up all thought of this, by represent- 
ing to him the imprudence and danger of such a 
measure. They called the negroes to them, to ask 
them various questions, and to inquire particularly 
what had become of the king, their master. They 
answered that he had lost his life by the discharge 
of a pistol, which he ordinarily carried suspended 
to his neck, and which, going off by accident, had 
killed him on the spot. As this pistol was supposed 
to have been one of the articles which he had re- 
ceived of Captain Pyke as the price of Job, the now 
redeemed captive, deeply affected by the circum- 
stance, turning to his conductors, said, "You see 
that Heaven has made the very arms for which I 
was sold, serve as the punishment of the inexorable 
wretch who made my freedom their procurement ! 
And yet I ought to be thankful for the lot into 
which I was cast, because if I had not been made 
a captive, I should not have seen such a country 
as England ; nor known the language ; nor have 
the many useful and precious things that I possess ; 
nor become acquainted with men so generous as 1 



JOB SOLOMON. 35 

have met with, not only to redeem me from bond- 
age, but to shew met great kindness, and send 
me back so much more capable of being useful." 
Indeed, he did not cease to praise highly the Eng- 
lish in conversing with the Africans, and endeavored 
to reclaim those poor creatures from the prejudice 
they had that the slaves were eaten, or killed for 
some other purpose, because no one was known 
to have returned. 

Having met with a Foulah, with whom he had 
been formerly acquainted, he engaged him to notify 
his family of his return ; but four months elapsed 
before he received any intelligence from Bunda. 
On the 14th of January, 1735, the messenger came 
back, bearing the sad tidings that his father had 
died ; with the consolation, however, of learning, 
just before his death, of the ransom of his son, and 
of the favor which he had received in England. 
One of the wives of Job had married again, in his 
absence ; and the second husband had fled on being 
informed of the arrival of the first. During the 
last three years, the war had made such ravages in 
the country of Bunda, that no cattle remained there. 

Job was deeply affected with the death of his 
father, the misfortunes of his country, and the situ- 
ation of his family. He protested, however, that 
he pardoned his wife, and the man who had es- 



36 JOB SOLOMON. 

poused her. " They had reason," he said, " to 
suppose me lost to them forever, because I had 
gone to a country from which no Foulah had ever 
returned." 

When Moore, from whose narrative these partic- 
ulars are extracted, left Africa, he was charged with 
letters from Job, who remained at Joar, to Ogle- 
thorpe, Bluet, the Duke of Montague, his principal 
benefactors, and to the Royal African Company.^ 

" On Thursday, November 4th, 1737, Sir Hans 
Sloane communicated to the Royal Society a letter 
which a gentleman had received from Job, the 
African, ivliom Mr. Oglethorpe released from 
slavery, and the African Company sent home to his 
own country, in one of their ships, about twelve 
months ago. In this letter he very gratefully ac- 
knowledges the favor he received in England ; and, 
in answer to some things desired of him when here, 
says that he has been in the country where the tree 
producing the gum- Arabic grows, and can assist the 
English in that trade. He furthur says, that he has 
been up in the country, as far as the mountains 

' Travels into the inland parts of Africa ; containing a description 
of several nations for the space of 600 miles upon the river Gambia ; 
with a particular account of Job ben Solomon, a Pholey, who was in 
England in 1733, and known hy the name of " the African Prince." 
By Feancis Moore. London, 173S. 



JOB SOLOMON. 37 

from whence the gold-dust is wafted down ; and 
that if the English would build flat-bottomed boats 
to go up the river, and send persons well skilled in 
separating the gold from the ore, they might gain 
vastly more than at present they do by the dust 
trade ; and that he should be always ready and 
willing to use the utmost of his power, (v^^hich is 
very considerable in that country,) to encourage 
and support them therein." ^ 

Mr. Nichols, who has inserted his name among 
the members of the Gentleman^s Society at Spalding, 
adds, "died 1773." ^ 

^ Political State of Great Britain, Vol. LIII. p. 18. 
2 Literary Anecdotes, Vol. VI. p. 90. 






CHAPTER III. 

Project for settling the south-western frontier of Carolina— A Charter 
granted for it, by the name of Georgia — Trustees appointed, who 
arrange a plan of Settlement — They receive a grant of Money 
from Parliament, and from Subscriptions and Contributions — 
Oglethorpe takes a lively interest in it — States the Object, and 
suggests Motives for Emigration — A Vessel hired to convey the 
Emigrants — Oglethorpe offers to accompany the intended Colo- 
nists — His disinterested devotedness to the benevolent and 
patriotic Enterprise. 

The project, which had been for some time in con- 
templation, of settling the south-eastern frontier of 
Carolina, between the rivers Savannah and Ala- 
tamaha,^ suggested to Oglethorpe that it could be 
effected by procuring the liberation of insolvent 
debtors, and uniting with them such other persons 
in reduced circumstances as might be collected else- 
where, and inducing them to emigrate thither and 
form a settlement. 

' See A Discourse concerning the designed establishment of a new 
Colony to the south of Carolina, by Sir Robert Montgomery, Baro- 
net. London, 1717. 






ACT FOR SETTLING GEORGIA. 39 

As such a project and design required for its 
furtherance more means than an individual could 
furnish, and more managing and directing power 
than, unaided, he himself could exert, Oglethorpe 
sought the cooperation of wealthy and influential 
persons in the beneficent enterprise. Concurring 
with his views, twenty-one associates petitioned 
the throne for an act of incorporation, and obtained 
letters-patent, bearing date the 9th of June, 
1732 ; the preamble of which recited, among other 
things, that " many of his Majesty's poor subjects 
were, through misfortunes and want of employ- 
ment, reduced to great necessities, and would be 
glad to be settled in any of his provinces of Amer- 
ica, where, by cultivating the waste and desolate 
lands, they might not only gain a comfortable sub- 
sistence, but also strengthen the colonies, and 
increase the trade, navigation, and wealth of his 
Majesty's realms." And then added, that, for the 
considerations aforesaid, the King did constitute 
and appoint certain persons, whose names are given, 
" trustees for settling and establishing the colony of 
Georgia in America," the intended new province 
being so called in honor of the King, who encour- 
aged readily the benevolent project, and contributed 
largely to its furtherance. 

At the desire of these gentlemen, there were 



40 TERMS OF THE CHARTER. 

inserted clauses in the charter, restraining them 
and their successors from receiving any salary, fee, 
perquisite, or profit, whatsoever, by or from this 
undertaking ; and also from receiving any grant of 
lands within the said district to themselves, or in 
trust for them.^ 

" No colony," says Southey, " was ever estab- 
lished upon principles more honorable to its pro- 
jectors. The conduct of the trustees did not 
discredit their profession. They looked for no 
emolument to themselves or their representatives 
after them."^ 

In pursuance of the requisitions of the charter, 
the trustees held a meeting in London, about the 
middle of July, for the choice of officers, and the 
drawing up of rules for the transaction of business. 
They adopted a seal for the authentication of such 
official papers as they should issue. It was formed 
with two faces ; one for legislative acts, deeds, and 
commissions, and the other, " the common seal," 
as it was called, to be affixed to grants, orders, 
certificates, &c. The device on the one was two 
figures resting upon urns, representhig the rivers 
Savannah and Alatamaha, the north-eastern and 



* Appendix, No. IX. 

' Southey's Life of Wesley, Vol. I. p. 179. 



SEAL OF TRUSTEES. 41 

south-western boundaries of the province, between 
which the genius of the colony was seated, with a 
cap of Hberty on her head, a spear in one hand, 
and a cornucopia in the other, with the inscription 
CoLONiA Georgia Aug: On the other face was a 
representation of silk-worms ; some beginning, and 
Others completing their labors, which were charac- 
terized by the motto, non sibi sed aliis. This 
inscription announced the beneficent disposition 
and disinterested motives of the trustees ; while the 
device was an allusion to a special object which 
they had in view, — the production of silk. 

They had learned that the climate of the region 
was particularly favorable to the breeding of the 
worms, and that the mulberry-tree was indigenous 
there. They conceived that the attention requisite, 
during the few weeks of the feeding of the worms, 
might be paid by the women and children, the old 
and infirm, without taking off the active men from 
their employment, or calling in the laborers from 
their work. For encouragement and assistance in 
the undertaking, they were willing to engage per- 
sons from Italy, acquainted with the method of 
feeding the worms and winding the thread from the 
cocoons, to go over with the settlers, and instruct 
them in the whole process. And they intended to 
recommend it strongly to the emigrants to use their 



• 



42 CULTURE OF SILK. 

Utmost skill and diligence in the culture of mul- 
berry trees, and the prompt attention to the purpose 
to which their leaves were to be applied ; so that, 
in due time the nation might receive such remit- 
tances of raw silk as would evince that their liber- 
ality towards effecting the settlement was well 
applied, and available in produce of an article of 
importation of so valuable a nature, and in great 
demand. 

The trustees were excited to this project by 
Oglethorpe, who had been deeply engaged in ascer- 
taining the value of wrought silk as an article of 
commerce, and also of the raw silk for domestic 
manufacture, at the time when Mr. John Lombe's 
invention for winding and reeling had been brought 
before Parliament. And now he considered that it 
would be an exceedingly desirable project to intro- 
duce the raising of the commodity in the projected 
new settlement, and thus diminish to the nation 
the large sums annually expended in the import- 
ation. 

This is one of those prospective measures for the 
advancement of the colony, which were nearly a 
century before the age.^ Others will hereafter be 
mentioned alike entitled to wonder and admiration. 

' See in the Appendix to this volume, a brief history of the cul- 
ture of silk in Georgia. 



il 



CONTKIBUTIONS OBTAINED. 43 

In order to fulfil the intent and promote the pur- 
poses of their incorporation, the trustees gave public 
notice that they were ready to receive applications 
from such as vv^ere disposed to emigrate. They also 
appointed a committee to visit the prisons, and 
make a list of insolvent debtors for vt^hom a dis- 
charge from the demands of their creditors could 
be obtained, and to ascertain vs^hat compromise 
might be effected for their release ; ^ as also to in- 
quire into the circumstances and character of appli- 
cants. To render these more willing to emigrate, 
it became necessary to hold out encouragement and 
to offer outfits. To defray these and meet subse- 
quent expenses in carrying the enterprize into 
effect, they first set the example of contribution 
themselves, and then undertook to sohcit benefac- 
tions from others. Several individuals subscribed 
liberally ; collections were made throughout the 
kingdom ; the directors of the Bank of England 
volunteered a handsome contribution ; and the Par- 
liament gave ten thousand pounds. 

Having thus acquired a fund to be laid out in 

* " That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth ! to them that 
are in darkness, Shew yourselves ! They shall feed in the ways. 
They shall no longer hunger or thirst ; for he that hath mercy 
ON them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he 
guide them, with those that come from far." Isaiah xlix. 9, 11. 



44 PROPOSALS TO EMIGRANTS. 

clothing, arming, sending over, and supporting the 
emigrants, and for supplying them with necessary 
implements to commence and carry on the settle- 
ment, the following statement was published : 
" There are many poor, unfortunate persons in this 
country, who would willingly labor for their bread, 
if they could find employment and get bread for 
laboring. Such persons may be provided for by 
being sent to a country where there are vast tracts 
of fertile land lying uninhabited and uncultivated. 
They will be taken care of on their passage ; they 
will get lands on which to employ their industry; 
they will be furnished with sufficient tools for setting 
their industry to work ; and they will be provided 
with a certain support, till the fruits of their industry 
can come in to supply their wants ; and all this with- 
out subjecting themselves to any master, or sub- 
mitting to any slavery. The fruits of every man's 
own industry are to be his own. Every man who 
transports himself thither is to enjoy all the privi- 
leges of a free-born subject." ^ 

Oglethorpe himself stated the object, the motive, 
and the inducements of such an emigration in the 
following terms. " They who can make life toler- 
able here, are willing to stay at home, as it is indeed 

' Political state of Great Britain, for August, 1732, Vol. XLIV, 
p. 150. 



OGLETHORPE'S STATEMENT. 45 

best for the kingdom that they should. But they 
who are oppressed with poverty and misfortunes, 
are unable to be at the charges of removing from 
their miseries, and these are the persons intended 
to be relieved. And let us cast our eyes on the 
multitude of unfortunate individuals in the kingdom, 
of reputable families, and of liberal, or at least easy 
education, some undone by guardians, some by law- 
suits, some by accidents in commerce, some by 
stocks and bubbles, and some by suretyship ; but 
all agree in this one circumstance, that they must 
either be burdensome to their relations, or betake 
themselves to little shifts for sustenance, which, it 
is ten to one do not answer their purposes, and to 
which a well-educated person descends with the 
utmost constraint. What various misfortunes may 
reduce the rich, the industrious, to danger of a 
prison, — to a moral certainty of starving ! — These 
are the persons that may relieve themselves, and 
strengthen Georgia by resorting thither, and Great 
Britain by their departure. 

" With a view to the relief of people in the con- 
dition I have described, his Majesty has, this pre- 
sent year, incorporated a considerable number of 
persons of quality and distinction, and invested a 
large tract of South Carolina in them, by the name 
of Georgia, in trust, to be distributed among the 



46 A VESSEL PROVIDED FOR EMIGRANTS. 

necessitous. Those Trustees not only give land to 
the unhappy, who go thither, but are also empow- 
ered to receive the voluntary contributions of chari- 
table persons to enable them to furnish the poor 
adventurers with all necessaries for the expense of 
the voyage, occupying the land, and supporting 
them, until they find themselves settled. So that 
now the unfortunate will not be obliged to bind 
themselves to a long service to pay for their pas- 
sage, for they may be carried gratis into a land of 
liberty and plenty, where they will immediately find 
themselves in possession of a competent estate, in 
a happier climate than they knew before, — and 
they are unfortunate indeed if they cannot forget 
their sorrows." * 

When the Trustees had got a list of a sufficient 
number of persons disposed to emigrate, they re- 
solved to send them over. 

A vessel was hired to convey the emigrants, 
fitted up for their accommodation, and supplied 
with stores, not only for the voyage, but for their 
support after their arrival. The Trustees also fiir- 
nished tools for building, implements for husbandry, 
domestic utensils, and various other articles ; and 



* New and Accurate Account of the Provinces of South Carolina and 
Georgia. London. 1733. p. 30 — 33. 



OGLETHORPE GOES WITH SETTLERS. 47 

James Oglethorpe, Esq., one of the Trustees, 
and the most zealous and active promoter of the 
enterprise, having signified his readiness to go w^ith 
the emigrants, and in the same ship, in order to see 
that they were well treated, and to take care of 
them after their landing, was clothed with power 
to exercise the functions of Governor of the 
Colony." 1 

He was prompted to engage in this undertaking 
by the spirit of enterprise and an enlarged philan- 
thropy and patriotism. While the benevolent pur- 
pose called into exercise his noblest feelings, he 
considered that the settlement of a new colony, in 
a pleasant region, would not only raise the charac- 
ter and highly improve the condition of those by 
whom it was constituted, but contribute to the 
interests of the British empire. 

In all this he was actuated by motives wholly 
disinterested ; for he freely devoted his time, his 
exertions, and his influence to the enterprise ; and 
not only bore his own expenses, but contributed 
largely to the means and assistance of others.^ 

The Abbe Raynal, in his Philosophical and Po- 

* Account, shewing the progress of the Colony of Georgia from its 
first settlement; published by order of the Honorable Trustees, by 

Benjamin Martin, Secretary. London. 1741. 

* See Appendix, No. X. 



48 ABBE RAYNAL'S STATEMENT. 

litical History of the British Settlements in America,^ 
states as the cause of Oglethorpe's undertaking, 
what, when rightly understood, was but a conse- 
quence of it. He says, " A rich and humane citi- 
zen, at his death, left the whole of his estate to set 
at liberty such insolvent debtors as were detained 
in prison by their creditors. Prudential reasons of 
policy concurred in the performance of this Will, 
dictated by humanity ; and the Government gave 
orders that such unhappy prisoners as were released 
should be transported into Georgia. The Parlia- 
ment added nine thousand eight hundred and forty- 
three pounds fifteen shillings, to the estate left by 
the Will of the citizen. A voluntary subscription 
produced a much more considerable sum. General 
Oglethorpe, a man who had distinguished himself 
by his taste for great designs, by his zeal for his 
country, and his passion for glory, was fixed upon 
to direct these public finances, and to carry into 
execution so excellent a project." 

Mr. Warden, adopted this account, but varied a 
little from it ; for he says, " It happened that Ogle- 
thorpe Was named executor for the disposal of a 
legacy left by a wealthy Englishman for the deliv- 

^ Book II. Chap. IV. See also his History of the Settlements and 
Trade of the East and West Indies, by Europeans, Book XVIII. 
Vol. VII. page 359, of the English translation. Lond, 1787. 



GRAHAM'S STATEMENT. 49 

erance of insolvent debtors, detained in prison ; and 
this donation, with others, procured from generous 
individuals, and ten thousand pounds sterHng ad- 
vanced by the government, was employed for the 
establishment of a colony, where this unfortunate 
class of men might find an asylum." ^ 

Mr. Graham has also followed this statement, 
and given the testator the credit of projecting the 
release of prisoners for debt ; a project which origi- 
nated solely with Oglethorpe.^ 

I have sought in vain for early vouchers of this 
statement, and feel assured that the project did not 
grow out of a bequest either of a " whole estate," 
or a " legacy " of any amount, left by " a rich cit- 
izen," or " a wealthy subject " of Great Britain. 
The story, like most others, becoming amplified by 
repetition, arose from the fact that Edward Adderly, 
Esq. had given, in his Will, the sum of one hundred 
pounds in aid of the settlement of Georgia ; but 
that was two years after the settlement had com- 
menced ; and it was not to Oglethorpe individually 
to manage, but to the Trustees to appropriate. 

Among my authorities are the publications of the 
day, when facts and circumstances are mentioned 

' Statistical, Political^ and Historical Account of the United States 
of America. Vol. II. p. 471. 

* History of America. Vol. III. p. 180. 
7 



50 OGLETHORPE THE PROJECTOR OF GEORGIA. 

as taking place, and may, therefore, be relied on. 
I dwell on them more particularly, and lay on them 
greater stress, because all the early narratives speak 
of Oglethorpe as the projector of the undertaking, 
the leader of the emigrants, the founder of the col- 
ony. The publisher of " An account of the first 
planting of the colony of Georgia," ^ speaking of 
his engagedness in this noble cause, says, " This 
was an instance of generosity and public spirit, and 
an enterprise of fatigue as well as of danger, which 
few ages or nations can boast." 

Ambition and enterprise were strong traits in 
his character ; and what he devised, his firmness of 
constitution, vigor of- health, force of principle, and 
untiring perseverance, enabled him to pursue to its 
accomplishment. 

^ Account of the first planting of the colony of Georgia ; published 
from the records of the Trustees ; by Benjamin Martin, their Secre- 
tary. Lond. 1741. p. 11. 



CHAPTER IV. 

The emigrants embark — Arrive at Charlestown, South Carolina — 
Oglethorpe visits Governor Johnson — Proceeds up the Savannah 
river — Place of settlement fixed upon — Tov?n laid out — La- 
bors superintended, and assisted by Colonel Bull — Treaty witli 
Tomo Chichi — Progress of settlement — Oglethorpe makes [a. 
visit to Governor Johnson, and presents himself before the House 
of Assembly, and makes an Address of grateful acknowledgment 
of favors received — Returns to Savannah — Holds a treaty with 
the Lower Creeks — Goes to head-quarters on the Ogechee — 
Fort Argyle built — Savannah laid out in wards, and Court of 
Records-Instituted. 

On the 16th of November, 1732, the intended 
emigrants embarked, accompanied by the Reverend 
Henry Herbert, D. D., a clergyman of the Church 
of England, as Chaplain, and Mr. Amatis, from 
Piedmont, w^ho was engaged to instruct them in 
raising silk-worms, and the art of winding silk. 
The following " account of their setting forth," is 
taken from a contemporary publication. 

" The Ann galley, of about two hundred tons, is 
on the point of sailing from Depford, for the new 



52 EMIGRANTS EMBARK. 

Colony of Georgia, with thirty-five families, con- 
sisting of carpenters, brick-layers, farmers, &c., 
who take all proper instruments for their employ- 
ment on their arrival. The men are learning mili- 
tary discipline of the guards ; and are furnished 
with muskets, bayonets, and swords, to defend the 
colony in case of an attack from the Indians. The 
vessel has on board ten tons of Alderman Parsons's 
best beer, and will take in at Madeira five tons of 
wine for the service of the colony. Many of the 
Trustees were on board for the purpose of ascer- 
taining whether they were suitably accommodated 
and provided for ; and to take leave of the worthy 
gentleman of their own body, who goes with them 
to take care of them, and to direct in laying out 
their lands, and forming a town." ^ 

In pursuance of the benevolent design of the 
Trustees, Oglethorpe engaged in this expedition 
entirely at his own expense ; furnished his own 
cabin-fare, on board ; and was constantly attentive, 
during the whole voyage, to the situation and com- 
fort of the passengers. 

On the 13th of January, 1733, the ship dropt 
anchor outside of the bar, at the port of Charlestown, 
South Carolina. Excepting that two infirm child- 

^ Gentleman's Magazine for 1732, p. 1029. 



ARRIVAL AT CHARLESTOWN. 53 

ren died on the passage, all that went on board 
had been well, and arrived in good health.^ 

Oglethorpe, with his suite, went on shore to wait 
on the Governor of the Province, his Excellency 
Robert Johnson. He was received in the kindest 
manner, and treated by him and the Council with 
every mark of civility and respect. Sensible of the 
great advantage that must accrue to Carolina from 
this new colony, the Governor afforded all the 
assistance in his power to forward the settlement ; 
and immediately sent an order to Mr. Middleton, 
the king's pilot, to conduct the ship into Port 
Royal, and to furnish small craft to convey the 
colonists thence to the river Savannah. 

In about ten hours they proceeded with this 
naval escort. On the 18th Mr. Oglethorpe went 
ashore on Tench's Island, where he left eight men, 
with directions to prepare huts for the people who 
would disembark, and tarry there till he could 
make farther arrangements. He proceeded thence 
to Beaufort, a frontier town of South Carolina, 

* The following details are taken from what appears to be infor- 
mation sent to the Trustees in London, and by them published in 
that popular Journal entitled ''The Political State of Great Britain,'' 
Vol. XL VI. page 234, collated with The History of the Rise, 
Progress, and Present State of the Colony of Georgia, in Harris's 
Collection of Voyages, IT. 327. 



54 EMIGRANTS GO ON SHORE. 

situated on Port Royal Island, at the mouth of the 
Coosawatchie river, having an excellent harbor. 

Early the next morning he went ashore, and 
was saluted by a discharge of the artillery. The 
Colonists, arriving on the 20th, were cheerfully re- 
ceived and assisted by Lieutenant Watts, Ensign 
Farrington, and other officers of the King's Inde- 
pendent Company on that station ; and were wait- 
ed upon and welcomed by Mr. Delabarr and gen- 
tlemen of the neighborhood.^ 

While the sea-worn emigrants rested and re- 
freshed themselves, the indefatigable Oglethorpe, 
accompanied by Colonel William Bull, a man of 
knowledge and experience, went up the river to 
explore the country. Having found a pleasant 
spot of ground near to Yamacraw, they fixed upon 
the place as the most convenient and healthy situa- 
tion for the settlers, and there marked out a town, 
which, from the Indian name of the river that ran 
past it, they called Savannah. 

On the 24th he returned, and with the emi- 
grants celebrated the following Sunday as a day 
of Thanksgiving for their safe arrival. A sermon 

^ ^^ Brief Account of the Progress of the First Colony sent to Geor- 
gia" — inserted in the 46th volume, p. 234, of the ^^ Political 
State of Great Britain ;" and it makes the second Tract in Force's 
Collection. 



PLACE OF SETTLEMENT. 55 

was preached by the Reverend Mr. Jones,^ by ex- 
change of services with Doctor Herbert, who offi- 
ciated at Beaufort. There was a great resort of 
gentlemen and their families, from the neighbor- 
hood, to welcome the new-comers, and unite with 
them in the gladness of the occasion. 

On the 31st they arrived at the place selected 
for their settlement, the description of which by 
Oglethorpe himself, in a letter to the Trustees, 
dated the 10th of February, 1733, cannot fail to 
give both interesting information and much plea- 
sure to the reader. 

After referring to a former letter, and giving a 
brief notice of their arrival at Beaufort, and his 
selection of a site, a few miles higher up the river, 
for laying out a town, he adds, " The river here 
forms a half-moon, along side of which the banks 
are about forty feet high, and on the top is a flat, 
which they call ' a bluff.' The plain high ground 
extends into the country about five or six miles ; 
and, along the river side, about a mile. Ships that 
draw twelve feet of water can ride within ten 
yards of the bank. Upon the river side, in the 
centre of this plain, I have laid out the town, oppo- 

* Rev. Lewis Jones. See some account of him in Dalcho's 
History of the Protestant Episcopal Church in South Carolina, p. 
378. 



5Q OGLETHORPE'S LETTER. 

site to which is an Island of very rich pasturage, 
which I think should be kept for the cattle of the 
Trustees. The river is pretty wide, the water 
fresh, and from the key of the town you see its 
whole course to the sea, with the island of Tybee, 
which is at its mouth. For about six miles up into 
the country, the landscape is very agreeable, the 
stream being wide, and bordered with high woods 
on both sides. 

" The whole people arrived here on the first of 
February. At night their tents were got up. Until 
the tenth they were taken up with unloading and 
making a crane, which 1 then could not finish, and 
so took off the hands, and set some to the fortifica- 
tion, and began to fell the woods. 

" I have marked out the town and common ; half 
of the former is already cleared ; and the first house 
was begun yesterday in the afternoon. 

" I have taken ten of the Independent Company 
to work for us, for which I make them an allowance. 

" I send you a copy of the resolution of the 
Assembly of Carolina, and the Governor and Coun- 
cil's letter to me.^ 

" Mr. Whitaker has given us one hundred head 
of cattle. Colonel Bull, Mr. Barlow, Mr. St. Julian, 

' Appendix, No. X. 



TOMO CHICHI. 57 

and Mr. Woodward are come up to assist us, with 
some of their servants. 

" I am so taken up in looking after a hundred 
necessary things, that I write now short, but shall 
give you a more particular account hereafter. 

" A little Indian nation, the only one within fifty 
miles, is not only in amity, but desirous to be sub- 
jects to his Majesty King George, to have lands 
given them among us. Their chief, and his beloved 
man, who is the second in the nation, desire to be 
instructed in the Christian religion."' 

Realizing how important it was to obtain the 
consent of the natural proprietors of the region, to 
the settlement of his colony here, and how desirable 
to be on good terms with those in the vicinity, he 
sought for an interview with Tomo Chichi, the 
Mico, or chief of a small tribe who resided at a 
place called Yamacraw, three miles up the river. 
Most fortunately and opportunely, he met with an 
Indian woman who had married a Carolinian trader 
by the name of Musgrove ; and who understood 
and could speak the English language ; and he 

' " The beloved man is a person of much consequence. He main- 
tains and exercises great influence in the state, particularly in mili- 
tary affairs, their Senate, or Council, never determining an expe- 
dition or treaty without his consent and assistance." Boudinot, 
Star in the East, p. 202. 



58 LETTER FROM OGLETHORPE. 

availed himself of her assistance as an interpreter.* 
The conference ended in a compact and treaty, 
favorable to the new comers. From this venerable 
chieftain he afterwards learned, that, besides that 
immediate district, the territory was claimed and 
partly occupied by the tribes of the upper and lower 
Creeks, whose formidable power, no less than their 
distinct pretensions, rendered it important that their 
consent should also be obtained. Accordingly, to 
gain their favor and sanction, he engaged Tomo 
Chichi to despatch an invitation to their chiefs, to 
hold a conference with him at Savannah. 

A letter from Oglethorpe, dated Savannah March 
12th, 1732-3, gives the following additional infor- 
mation. 

" This Province is much larger than we thought, 
being one hundred and twenty miles from this river 
to the Alatamaha. This river has a very long 
course, and a great trade is carried on by it to the 

' Oglethorpe afterwards allowed her an annual stipend for her 
services, finding that she had great influence with the Indians. — 
Some years afterwards she married the Reverend Mr. Bosomworth; 
and then she put on airs, and united with him in a vexatious claim 
for a large tract of land. See McCall, Vol. L p. 213. Bosomworth 
had been a Chaplain in the Regiment of the General ; had re- 
ceived many favors from him personally ; and a salary from the 
Society for propagating the Gospel in Foreign parts. 



OGLETHORPE'S LETTER. - 59 

Indians, there having above twelve trading boats 
passed since I have been here. 

There are in Georgia, on this side the mountains, 
three considerable nations of Indians ; one called 
the Lower Creeks, consisting of - nine towns, or 
rather cantons, making about one thousand men 
able to bear arms. One of these is within a short 
distance from us, and has concluded a peace with 
us, giving up their right to all this part of the coun- 
try ; and I have marked out the lands which they 
have reserved to themselves. The King comes con- 
stantly to church, and is desirous to be instructed 
in the Christian religion ; and has given me his 
nephew, a boy, who is his next heir, to educate. 

The two other nations are the Uchees and the 
Upper Creeks ; the first consisting of two hundred, 
the latter of eleven hundred men. We agree so 
well with the Indians, that the Creeks and Uchees 
have referred to me a difference to determine, which 
otherwise would have occasioned a war. 

Our people still lie in tents, there being only 
two clapboard houses built, and three sawed houses 
framed. Our crane, our battery of cannon, and 
magazine are finished. This is all that we have 
been able to do, by reason of the smallness of our 
number, of which many have been sick, and others 
unused to labor ; though, I thank God, they are 



60 EXTRACT FROM S. CAROLINA GAZETTE. 

now pretty well, and we have not lost one since 
our arrival here." ^ 

The following extract from a letter dated Charles- 
town, 22d March, 1732-3, and printed in the South 
Carolina Gazette, describes, in honorable terms, the 
attention which the leader of this enterprise devoted 
to its furtherance.^ 

" Mr. Oglethorpe is indefatigable, and takes a 
great deal of pains. His fare is but indifferent, 
having little else at present but salt provisions. He 
is extremely well beloved by all the people. The 
general title they give him is Father. If any of 
them are sick, he immediately visits them, and takes 
a great deal of care of them. If any difference 
arises, he is the person that decides it. Two hap- 
pened while I was there, and in my presence ; and 
all the parties went away, to outward appearance, 
satisfied and contented with his determination. He 
keeps a strict discipline. I never saw one of his 
people drunk, nor heard one of them swear, all the 
time 1 was there. He does not allow them rum ; 



^ Political Taste of Great Britain, Vol. XLV. p. 445. 

' See also " Account showing the progress of the Colony of Georgia 
from its first Establishment." Lond. 1741, The Appendix, No. 2 
contains the Letter, with this notice - — " "Written by a Gentleman 
of Charlestown, who, with some others, went thither, [i. e. to 
Savannah] out of curiosity." 



COL. BULL ASSISTS. 61 

but in lieu gives them English beer. It is sur- 
prizing to see how cheerful the men go to work, 
considering they have not been bred to it. There 
are no idlers there. Even the boys and girls do 
their part. There are four houses already up, but 
none finished ; and he hopes, when he has got more 
sawyers, which I suppose he will have in a short 
time, to finish two houses a week. He has 
ploughed up some land ; part of which he has 
sowed with wheat, which has come up, and looks 
promising. He has two or three gardens, which 
he has sowed with divers sorts of seed, and planted 
thyme, sage, pot-herbs, leeks, skellions, celery, 
liquorice, &c., and several trees. He was pali- 
sading the town and inclosing some part of the 
common ; which I suppose may be finished in about 
a fortnight's time. In short, he has done a vast 
deal of work for the time ; and I think his name 
justly deserves to be immortalized." 

" Colonel Bull, who had been sent by Governor 
Johnson to assist in laying out the town, and to 
describe to the people the manner of felling the 
trees, and of clearing, breaking up, and cultivating 
the ground, was a very efficient helper. He brought 
with him four of his negroes, who were sawyers, to 
help the workmen ; and also provisions for them ; 
being resolved not to put the Trustees to any ex- 



62 GARDEN LAID OUT. 

pense ; but to bestow his aid in the most free and 
useful manner. Others from Carolina, also, sent 
laborers, who, being accustomed to preparing a 
plantation for settlement, were very expert, and of 
essential service." 

Thus generously assisted, the new settlers were 
enabled to cut down a great number of trees ; ^ to 
clear the land, to construct comfortable houses,^ to 
make enclosures of yards and gardens, to build a 
guard-house and fortification, and to effect other 
means of accommodation and defence. 

A public garden was laid out, which was designed 
as a nursery, in order to supply the people with 
white mulberry trees, vines, oranges, olives, and 
various necessary plants, for their several planta- 
tions ; and a gardener was appointed for the care 
of it, to be paid by the Trustees. 

Things being put in a good train, and the proper 
station and employment of every man assigned him, 
Oglethorpe went to Charlestown on a visit to Go- 
vernor Johnson and the Council. His object was 



' Four beautiful pine-trees were left upon the plain, under which 
General Oglethorpe encamped. 

^ These were all of the same size ; 22 by 16 feet. The town-lots 
consisted of one quarter of an acre ; but they had other lots, at a 
small distance out of town, consisting of five acres, designed for 
plantations. 



OGLETHORPE'S ADDRESS. 63 

to make a more intimate acquaintance with them, 
gratefully to acknowledge the succors for the new. 
comers which had been so generously bestowed ; 
and to consult measures for their mutual inter- 
course. 

On Saturday, June 9th, presenting himself before 
the Governor and House of Assembly, he thus ad- 
dressed them. 

" I should think myself very much wanting in 
justice and gratitude, if I should neglect thanking 
your Excellency, you gentlemen of the Council, 
and you gentlemen of the Assembly, for the assist- 
ance which you have given to the Colony of Geor- 
gia. I have long wished for an opportunity of 
expressing my sense of the universal zeal which 
the inhabitants of this province have shewn for 
assisting that colony ; and could not think of any 
better opportunity than now, when the whole pro- 
vince is virtually present in its General Assembly. 
I am, thereforCj gentlemen, to thank you for the 
handsome assistance given by private persons, as 
well as by the public. I am to thank you, not only 
in the name of the Trustees, and the little colony 
now in Georgia, but in behalf of all the distressed 
people of Britain and persecuted Protestants of 
Europe, to whom a place of refuge will be secured 
by this first attempt. 



64 OGLETHORPE'S ADDRESS. 

"Your charitable and generous proceeding, be- 
sides the self-satisfaction which always attends such 
actions, will be of the greatest advantage to this pro- 
vince. You, gentlemen, are the best judges of this ; 
since most of you have been personal witnesses of the 
dangerous blows which this country has escaped 
from French, Spanish, and Indian arms. Many of 
you know this by experience, having wsignalized your- 
selves personally, either when this province by its 
own strength, and unassisted by any thing but the 
courage of its inhabitants and the providence of 
God, repulsed the formidable invasions of the 
French ; or when it defeated the whole body of the 
southern Indians, who were armed against it, and 
was invaded by the Spaniards, who assisted them. 
You, gentlemen, know that there was a time when 
€very day brought fresh advices of murders, rava- 
ges, and burnings ; when no profession or calling 
was exempted from arms ; when every inhabitant 
of the province was obliged to leave wife, family, 
and useful occupations, and undergo the fatigues of 
war, for the necessary defence of the country ; and 
all their endeavors scarcely sufficient to guard the 
western and southern frontiers against the Indians. 

" It would be needless for me to tell you, who 
are much better judges, how the increasing settle- 
ment of a new colony upon the southern frontiers, 



OGLETHORPE'S SPEECH. 65 

will prevent the like danger for the future. Nor 
need I tell jou how every plantation will increase 
in value, by the safety of the Province being in- 
creased ; since the lands to the southward already 
sell for above double what they did before the new 
Colony arrived. Nor need I mention the great les- 
sening of the burden of the people by increasing 
the income of the, tax from the many thousand 
acres of land either taken or taking up on the pros- 
pect of future security. 

" The assistance which the Assembly have given, 
though not quite equal to the occasion, is very large 
with respect to the present circumstances of the 
Province ; and, as such, shows you to be kind 
benefactors to your new-come countrymen, whose 
settlements you support ; and dutiful subjects to 
his Majesty, whose revenues and dominions you by 
this means increase and strengthen. 

" As I shall soon return to Europe, I must recom- 
mend the infant Colony to your further protection ; 
being assured, both from your generosity and wis- 
dom, that you will, in case of any danger or neces- 
sity, give it the utmost support and assistance." 

To the insertion of this speech in the Political 
State of Great Britain, October, 1733, page 361, it 
is added, " On the Sunday evening following he 
set out again for Georgia ; so that we may perceive 



66 GOVERNOR PENN'S BENEFACTION. 

that there is no endeavor wanting in him to estab- 
lish and make that settlement a flourishing colony ; 
but his conduct in this whole affair is by much the 
more extraordinary, and the more to be applauded, 
because, by the nature of the settlement, he cannot 
so much as expect any private or particular benefit ; 
he cannot possibly have any other reward but that 
which is the certain, the eternal reward of good 
actions, a consciousness of having done a service 
to his country, and to mankind." 

Favored by their industry, and the smiles of a 
propitious providence in that delightful region, "the 
wilderness and the solitary place was glad for 
them ; and the desert rejoiced and blossomed as 
a rose." ^ " They planted vineyards, and made 
themselves gardens, and set out in them trees of all 
kinds of fruits." ^ 

In aid and encouragement of the settlement, the 
Trustees received a letter from Thomas Penn, 
Proprietor of Pennsylvania, dated Philadelphia, 
March 6th, 1732-3, approving very highly of the 
undertaking, promising to contribute all the assist- 
ance in his power, and acquainting them that he 
had for himself subscribed one hundred pounds ster- 
ling, and that he was collecting what sums of 
money he could get from others, to be sent them, 

' Isaiah, xxxv. 1. ^ Ecclesiastes, ii. 3. 



DEPUTATION OF CREEKS. 67 

in order to be employed for the purposes of their 
charter.^ 

It has been already observed that " Oglethorpe 
endeavored very early to secure the favor of the 
Indians, who, by ranging through the woods, would 
be capable of giving constant intelligence to pre- 
vent any surprise upon the people, and would be a 
good out-guard for the inland parts of the Colony ; 
as also to obtain of them grants of territory, and 
privilege of undisturbed occupancy and improve- 
ment."^ He was pleased, therefore, on his return 
from Charlestown, to find the chiefs of the Lower 
Creeks in waiting ; the purpose of whose visit, as 
made known by Mr. Wiggan ^ and Mr. John Mus- 
grove, who acted as interpreters, was to treat on an 
alliance with the Colony. 

These Creeks consisted of eight tribes, united in 
a kind of political confederacy ; all speaking the 
same language, but being under separate jurisdic- 
tions. Their deputation was composed of their 

^ Political State of Great Britain, for June, 1733, Vol. XLV. p. 
543. 

^ Account, showing the Progress of the Colony of Georgia, from 
its first Establishment. Lond. 1741, p. 13. 

^ William Wiggan, who accompanied Sir Alexander Cuming 
in the beginning of the year 1731, on his journey to the Cherokees, 
is, in the narrative of that expedition, called not merely " the inter- 
preter," but "the complete linguist." 



gg RECEPTION OF THE CREEKS. 

micoes, or chiefs, and leading warriors, about fifty 
in number.^ 

The General received them with courtesy, and 
then invited them to " a talk," in one of the new 
houses. He informed them that the English, by 
coming to settle there, did not pretend to dispos- 
sess, nor think to annoy the natives ; but above all 
things desired to live on good terms with them, 
and hoped, through their representatives, now pre- 
sent, to obtain from them a cession of that part of 
the region on which he had entered, and to form 
and confirm a treaty of friendship and trade. 

When he had explained his views with respect 
to the settlers, and their designs in making the 
location, Ouechachumpa, a very tall old man, in 
the name of the rest, informed the British adven- 
turers what was the extent of the country claimed 
by their tribes. He acknowledged the superiority 
of the white men to the red ; and said that he was 
persuaded that the Great Spirit who dwelt above 
and all around, (whose immensity he endeavored 

' Besides a king, every Indian town has a head warrior, who is 
in great esteem among them, and whose authority seems to be 
greater than their kings ; because the king is looked upon as little 
else than a civil magistrate, except it so happens that he is at the 
same time a head warrior." Narrative of a Journey among the 
Indians in the Northwest parts of South Carolina, 1731, by Sir Alex- 
ander Cuming. See, also, Appendix, No. XII. 



SPEECH OF OUECHACHUMPA. 69 

to express bj throwing abroad his hands, and pro- 
longing his articulations as he spoke,) had sent the 
English thither for the good of the natives ; and, 
therefore, thej were welcome to all the land which 
the Creeks did not use themselves. He confirmed 
his speech bj laying before Oglethorpe eight buck- 
skins, one for each of the Creeks ; the best things, 
he said, that they had to bestow. He thanked 
them for their kindness to Tomo Chichi, who, it 
seems, had been banished with some of his adher- 
ents, from his own nation ; but for his valor and 
wisdom had been chosen mico by the Yamacraws, 
an emigrating branch of the same stock. 

The declarations of the speaker were confirmed 
by short speeches of the others ; whenTomo Chichi, 
attended by some of his friends, came in, and, 
making a low obeisance, said, " When these white 
men came, I feared that they would drive us away, 
for we were weak ; but they promised not to mo- 
lest us. We wanted corn and other things, and 
they have given us supplies ; and now, of our 
small means, we make them presents in return. 
Here is a buffalo skin, adorned with the head and 
feathers of an eagle. The eagle signifies speed, 
and the buffalo strength. The English are swift 
as the eagle, and strong as the buffalo. Like the 
eagle they flew hither over great waters ; and like 



70 ALLIANCE MADE. 

the buffalo nothing can withstand them. But the 
feathers of the eagle are soft, and signify kindness ; 
and the skin of the buffalo is covering, and signifies 
protection. Let these, then, remind them to be 
kind, and protect us." 

The aUiance was soon made. The treaty con- 
tained stipulations on the part of the English, con- 
cerning trade ; reparation of injuries, should any 
be committed ; and punishment for impositions, 
should any be practised upon them ; and, on the 
part of the Indians, a free and formal cession of 
that part of the region which was not used by the 
Yamacraws, nor wanted by the Creeks. By this 
cession they made a grant to the Trustees of the 
lands upon Savannah river as far as the river Oge- 
chee, and all the lands along the sea-coast be- 
tween Savannah and Alatamaha rivers, extending 
west as high as the tide flows, and including all the 
islands ; the Indians reserving to themselves the 
islands of Ossabaw, Sapeloe, and St. Catherines, 
for the purposes of hunting, bathing and fishing ; 
as also the tract of land lying between Pipe-maker's 
bluff and Pallachucola creek, above Yamacraw bluff, 
which they retained as an encampment when they 
should come to visit their beloved friends in that 
vicinity. This special reservation of some islands 
had been made by them in their treaty with 
Governor Nicholson, in 1722. 



OGLETHORPE'S PRESENTS. 7I 

Oglethorpe then presented to each of the eight 
chiefs a laced coat and hat, and a shirt ; to each of 
the eight war-captains, a gun, with powder, flint, 
bullets and shot ; to the beloved men a duffle mantle 
of coarse cloth ; — and distributed some smaller 
presents among their attendants. Upon this they 
took their leave of him, highly satisfied with the 
treatment which they had met.^ 

Having taken much pains to become acquainted 
with the character of the natives, he furnished a 
very intelligent traveller, by whom he was visited, 
with an interesting account of their manners and 
customs ; who annexed it to the published volume 
of his travels.^ 



' This Treaty was sent to England, and was confirmed by the 
Trustees on the 18th of October, 1733. For a copy of it, see 
McCall, History of Georgia, Appendix to Vol. I. p. 357. 

The History of Georgia, by Major McCall has great merit. It 
was written by the worthy author under circumstances of bodily 
suffering, submitted to, indeed with meekness, borne with heroic 
fortitude, and endured with unfailing patience. It is wonderful 
that he succeeded so well in the accomplishment of his work, con- 
sidering the scanty materials which he could procure ; for he says, 
that, " without map or compass, he entered an unexplored forest, 
destitute of any other guide than a few ragged pamphlets, defaced 
newspapers, and scraps of manuscripts." 

' As this is an extremely rare book, I give the title from a copy 
in the library of Harvard College. " A new iwyage to Georgia, by a 
young gentleman : giving an account of his travels in South Carolina, 



72 FORT ARGYLE. 

On the 18th of June he went to the Horse- 
quarter, which lies six miles up the river OgecheCj 
and there took with him Captain McPherson, with 
a detachment of his rangers, on an excursion into 
the interior. After a march of forty miles west- 
ward, he chose a post, commanding the passages 
by which the Indians used to invade Carolina in 
the late wars. Here, upon an eminence which 
commands all the country round, he directed that 
a fortification should be built, to be called " Fort 
Argyle," in memory of his honored patron John 

and.part of North Carolina. Tovjhich is added a curious account of 
the Indians by an Honorable Person ; and a Poem to, James Ogle- 
thorpe, Esq., on his arrival from Georgia." London, 1735. 12mo. 
The author of the " History of Georgia," contained in the 40th 
volume of the " Universal History," page 456, quotes passages from 
this "Account of the Indians," and ascribes it to Oglethorpe.' — 
Mr. Salmon in the 3d vol. of his Modern History, p. 602, giving 
an account of the present state of Georgia, introduces a quotation 
from what he calls " Mr. Oglethorpe's account of the religion and 
government of the Creeks," in the following words : " Mr. Ogle- 
thorpe, speaking of the religion and government of the Creek na- 
tion, in ' a letter from Georgia to a person of honor in London,' 
says ' There seems to be a way opened to our Colony towards the 
conversion of the Indians,' &c. This is decisive in fixing the 
author ; for Mr. Salmon knew the General personally; and, on pub- 
lishing another edition of his elaborate work, obtained from him, a 
very interesting " Continuation of the present state of Georgia." 
The Letter is copied into the Gentleman's Magazine, Vol. III. p. 108 
and 483. See also Appendix, No. XIII. 



SAVANNAH LAID OUT. 73 

Duke of Argyle.^ It is on the west bank of the 
Ogechee river. Its design was to protect the 
settlers from invasions by the Spaniards. Captain 
McPherson and his troop were to be quartered 
there, and ten families from Savannah to be re- 
moved, as cultivators, to its immediate vicinity. 

On the 7th of July, at day break, the inhabitants 
of Savannah were assembled on the strand for the 
purpose of designating the wards of the town, and 
assigning the lots. In a devotional service, they 
united in thanksgiving to God, that the lines had 
fallen to them in a pleasant place, and that they 
were about to have a goodly heritage. The wards 
and tithings were then named ; each ward consist- 
ing of four tithings, and each tithing of ten houses ; 
and a house lot was given to each freeholder. 
There being in Derby ward but twenty one houses 
built ; and the other nineteen having no house erect- 
ed on them, Mr. Milledge and Mr. Goddard, the 
two chief carpenters, offered, in the name of them- 
selves and seventeen of their helpers, to take the 
unbuilt on lots, and give the built ones to those 
who were less able to help themselves. 

The people then partook of a plentiful dinner, 
which their generous Governor had provided.^ 

^ See Appendix, No. XIV. 

' An account of this transaction in the South Carolina Gazette, 
10 



74 COURT ESTABLISHED. 

In the afternoon the grant of a Court of Record 
was read, and the officers were appointed. The 
session of the magistrates was then held, a jury 
impanneled, and a case tried. 

These were necessary regulations for establish- 
ing a due regard to order, discipline, and govern- 
ment. And yet, with all the influence which their 
honored leader could give to sanction the measures 
and support the authority, there was much to be 
done to render the administration effective. The 
settlers had no common bond of attachment or ac- 
cordance ; of course, it was very difficult to dispose 
them to the reciprocal offices of a social state, much 
more so to the still higher obligations of a civil 
compact. Together with these aims of those who 
were put into places of authority, they were obliged 
daily to use their endeavors to bring the restive and 
quarrelsome into proper subordination ; to keep the 
sluggish and lazy diligently employed, and to teach 
the thriftless to be economical and prudent. 

" Tantse molis erat disjunctis condere Gentem ! " 

under the date of August 8th, closes with this remark ; " Some of 
the people having privately drunk too freely of rum, are dead ; and 
that liquor, which was always discountenanced there, is now abso- 
lutely prohibited." 



CHAPTER V. 

Oglethorpe intended to visit Boston, in New England — Governor 
Belcher's Letter to him — Provincial Assembly appoint a Com- 
mittee to receive him — Sets out on an exploratory Excursion — 
Names an Island, Jekyl — Visits Fort Argyle — Returns to Sa- 
vannah — Saltzburgh emigrants, conducted by Baron Von Reck, 
come to settle in Georgia — Oglethorpe assists them in selecting 
a place — They call it Ebenezer — He then goes up the river to 
Palacholas — Returns — Goes to Charlestown, with Tomo Chichi 
and other Indians, in order to take passage to England. 

Oglethorpe intended to have made the tour of 
the Colonies ; particularly to have visited Boston, 
in Massachusetts. Apprized of this intention, 
Governor Belcher addressed to him the following 
letter.^ 

Boston, New England, May 3d, 1733. 
Honored Sir, 

It is with great pleasure that I congratulate you 
on your safe arrival in America ; and I have a still 
greater in the advantages which these parts of his 

^ Copied Horn the letter-book of Governor Belcher, in the cabinet 
of the Massachusetts Historical Society. 



76 LETTER FROM GOVERNOR BELCHER. 

Majesty's dominions will reap from your noble and 
generous pursuits of good to mankind in the settle- 
ment of Georgia. May God Almighty attend you 
with his blessing, and crown your toils with suc- 
cess. 

Several of my friends, sir, from London, ac- 
quaint me with your intentions to pass by land 
from South Carolina, through the king's territories 
as far as this place ; where I shall be very proud of 
shewing you the just esteem which I have for you ; 
and shall depend that you will please to accept 
such quarters as my habitation affords during your 
stay in this government. 

When you get to Philadelphia or New York, I 
shall be glad of the favor of a line from you, to 
know how and when you make your route hither. 
I am, with great respect, sir. 

Your most obedient, and most humble servant, 

Jonathan Belcher. 

At the next Assembly of the Province, the Gover- 
nor, in- a special message, apprized them of the ex- 
pectation which he had of a visit from the General ; 
and in the House of Representatives " it was or- 
dered that a committee should be raised to prepare 
for the reception of James Oglethorpe, Esq., who 
may be expected in Boston this summer ; that so 



COMMITTEE APPOINTED. 77 

the government may express their grateful sense 
of his good services to the public interest of the 
Province." 

June 21st, 1733, the following motion was 
agreed on : — 

"Whereas James Oglethorpe, Esq., a member 
of Parliament, and now at Georgia, near South 
Carolina, hath at several times appeared in favor 
of New England ; and, in a particular manner 
done many good offices for this Province, of which 
this Court hath been advised by Mr. Agent Wilkes, 
and that he intends, in a short time, to return to 
Great Britain, by the way of Boston : — 

" Voted, That Mr. Speaker, Mr. Cooke, Major 
Brattle, Mr. Thacher, Mr. Welles, Mr. Gushing, 
Mr. Hall, Mr. Webb, and Major Bowles, be a 
Committee, from this House, to congratulate that 
honorable gentleman upon his arrival at Boston ; 
and, in their name and behalf, acquaint him that 
the Assembly are well knowing of the many good 
offices he hath done this Province, in that, when 
the interest, trade, and business thereof have been 
under the consideration of the British Parliament, 
he hath, in a distinguishing manner, consulted 
measures to perpetuate the peace and lasting hap- 
piness of this government. And, as his worthy 
and generous actions justly deserve a most grateful 



78 GOVERNOR BELCHER'S SPEECH. 

and public acknowledgment, to assure him that 
this country will retain a lasting remembrance of 
his great benefactions ; and that a recognition of 
the favors which they have so frequently received 
from him, is the least that the House can offer ; 
while they earnestly desire the continuance of his 
good will towards this Province." 

His Excellency then made the following speech : 

" Gentlemen of the Council and House of Representatives, 

"I am glad to see the respect which you have 
expressed in your vote to the Honorable Mr. Ogle- 
thorpe, a member of that wise and august body, 
the Parliament of Great Britain ; but, as there is 
no money in the treasury to defray the charge of 
the reception and entertainment of that honorable 
gentleman, I have taken early care to invite him to 
my house, when he may come into this Province, 
and I shall endeavor to entertain him in such a 
manner as may express the great esteem which I 
have of his attachment to his Majesty and to his 
Royal House, and of his regard to this Province, as 
well as of his great merit. And this I will do at 
my own charge, till the treasury may be supplied. 
And for these reasons I have not made your vote 
an order of this Court." 

The Editor of the publication, entitled " The 



VISIT TO BOSTON PREVENTED. 79 

Political State of Great Britain,'''' makes the fol- 
lowing remarks upon these doings of the Legisla- 
ture of Massachusetts : ^ 

" This expression of gratitude towards Mr. Ogle- 
thorpe shows that the gentlemen who are members 
of the House of Representatives in that Colony, 
sire men of good sense as well as lovers of their 
country ; and there is certainly no greater incite- 
ment to generous and public spirited actions than 
that of public acknowledgment and praise." 

Circumstances, however, prevented his making a 
visit, so earnestly expected, and which would have 
been so mutually gratifying. 

On Wednesday, January 23, 1734, Oglethorpe 
set out on an exploratory excursion, to view the 
southern frontiers, in a row-boat commanded by 
Captain Ferguson, attended by fourteen compan- 
ions and two Indians ; followed by a yawl loaded 
with ammunition and provisions. They took " the 
inland passages." Thus are named the passes be- 
tween the belt of " sea-islands " and the main 
land. For the distance of seven miles from the 
ocean along the whole coast, there is a margin of 
islands and marshes, intersected by rivers, creeks, 
and inlets, communicating with each other, and 

> Vol. XL VIII. p. 173. 



80 SURVEY OF THE COAST. 

forming a complete inland navigation for vessels of 
one hundred tons. 

Having reached the north-west coast of the 
islands of Ossabaw, St. Catherine, and Sapelo, 
they passed the entrances of Vernon river, of the 
Ogechee, and of the northern branches of the Ala- 
tamaha ; and, on the 26th landed on the first Alba- 
ny bluff of St. Simons, where they lay dry under 
the shelter of a large live oak tree, though it rained 
hard. The next day they proceeded to the sea 
point of St. Simons, in order to take an observation 
of the latitude. They afterwards discovered an 
island, of which the general asked the name, and, 
finding that it had none, he called it Jekyl, in 
honor of Sir Joseph Jekyl, his respected and par- 
ticular friend.^ They reconnoitred various other 
places, and the mouths of rivers ; and, on their re- 
turn went up the Ogechee to Fort Argyle, where 
they lay in a house and upon beds, " for the first 
time since they left Thunderbolt." ^ 

' This eminent man, who was the son of a clergyman in North- 
amptonshire, Great Britain, became known as an able lawyer, 
and an eloquent statesman. As the friend of the Whigs, he was 
one of the managers of Sacheverell's trial ; and, after maintaining 
his principles and popularity undiminished, he was made, in the 
reign of George L, Master of the Rolls and Privy Counsellor, and 
was also knighted. He died in 1738, aged 75. 

^ This startling appellation was early given to a little settlement 



ISLAND OF ST. SIMONS. 31 

The fortifications there, by the unwearied dili- 
gence of Captain McPherson, were finished, and 
very defensible ; being well flanked, and having 
several pieces of cannon.^ 

By this excursion he ascertained how expedient 
it was to have an outpost, with a well-manned fort 
on the island of St. Simons ; and how desirable 
to form a settlement and military station near the 
mouth of the Alatamaha, for the protection and 
defence of the colony.^ 

A strong sense of indignation had been expressed 
in England at the persecution of the Protestants at 
Saltzburg, in Bavaria, who had been banished by 
an Episcopal edict from their homes on account of 
their religion, and, in the midst of winter, driven 

in the neighborhood of Savannah, in reference to an awful explo- 
sion there, the effects of which were said to be perceivable in the 
sulphuric smell and taste of a spring of water. "Adhuc tenet 
nomen, indelibile ! " 

' Letter from a Gentleman of Savannah to his friend at Charles- 
town, S. C, inserted in The New England Weekly Journal, May 
13, 1734. 

^ " At the west side of the island is a high bluff, compared with 
the marshes in its front; and here Frederica was afterwards built. 
The shore is washed by a fine river, which communicates with the 
Alatamaha, and enters the ocean through Jekyl sound, at the south 
end of the island. It forms a bay which is navigable for vessels of 
large burden." McGall, I. 170. 
11 



32 EXILED SALTZBURGERS. 

from the region to seek a place of refuge.* Ogle- 
thorpe had shared largely in the general sympathy; 
and, in a speech in the House of Commons, had 
declared his regret that no provision had been made 
for their relief in the late treaty. He proposed to 
the Trustees for settling the colony of Georgia, that 
an asylum should be there opened for these exiles. 
The proposition met with ready concurrence. A 
letter was addressed to their Elder, the venerable 
Samuel Urlsperger, to inquire whether a body of 
them would be disposed to join the new settlers, if 
measures were taken for their transportation. A 
favorable answer was received. An English vessel 
was sent to convey them from Rotterdam to Dover ; 
and thence they embarked on the 8th of January, 
1734, on board the ship Purrys burgh. Captain Frey, 
under the more immediate care and conduct of the 
Baron Philip George Frederick Von Reck, together 
with their Reverend Pastors, John Martin Bolzius 
and Israel Christian Gronau. After many difficul- 
ties and dangers, they arrived at Charlestown, South 
Carolina, on the 7th of March.^ Oglethorpe, who 
happened to be there, as they piously considered, 
" providentially," bid them a cheering welcome. 
He had their ship supplied with provisions ; and 

' Gentleman''s Magazine, 1732, p. 866, and Appendix, No. XV, 
* See Appendix, No. XVL 



ARRIVAL OF SALTZBURGERS, 83 

sent the sea-sick pilgrims, what is so grateful and 
refreshing after a voyage, many baskets of cab- 
bages, turnips, radishes, lettuce, and other vegeta- 
bles, " of which the gardens were full." He intro- 
duced the Baron and the ministers to the Governor, 
who received them with much civility, and with 
whom they dined. 

The General sent one of his men to their ship, 
as a pilot, as also to announce their arrival, and 
bespeak the attention of the magistrates at Savan- 
nah ; and, on the 9th they set sail for the desired 
region of peace. They entered the river on the 
10th, which was reminiscere-Sunday ; and " they 
called to remembrance the former days, in which, 
after they were illuminated," (and because they 
were so,) " they endured a great fight of afflictions, 
partly while they were made a gazing-stock in 
their dispersions, and partly while they became 
companions of them that were so. But they took 
unresistingly the spoiling of their goods, trusting to 
those who had compassion on their sufferings." ^ 
" And they remembered the kindnesses of Ogle- 
thorpe." 

In the journal of their pastor,^ it is stated, "While 
we lay off the banks of our dear Georgia, in a very 
lovely calm, and heard the birds singing sweetly, 

' Hebrews, x. 32-34. * Urlspukger, I. p. 80. 



84 REMINISCERE-SUNDAY. 

all was cheerful on board. It was really edifying 
to us that we came to the borders of ' the promised 
land,' this day, when, as we are taught in its lesson 
from the Gospel, that Jesus came to the borders by 
the sea-coast, after he had endured persecution and 
rejection by his countrymen." 

On the 11th the ship got upon the sand; but 
was floated ofl'by the tide on the 12th, and as they 
passed up the river, they were delighted with the 
pleasant prospect on both sides. The balmy odors 
of the pine trees, wafted by the land-breeze, seem- 
ed like incense mingling with their orisons, and the 
carols of the birds were in accordance with their 
matin-hymn of praise. This second reference to 
the minstrelsy of the grove, will not be wondered 
at by those who have visited that region in the 
spring of the year. The various notes of the 
feathered choristers are enchanting, even now, 
when the din of population has frightened them 
into coverts. But then, free and fearless, the 
strains were lively and joyful, and the chorus full. 

As the vessel was moored near the landing- 
place, the inhabitants flocked down to the bank, 
and raised a cheering shout, which was responded 
with much gladness by the passengers on deck. 
Some of them were soon taken ofl" in a boat, and led 
round to the town, part through the wood, and part 



RECEPTION OF THE EXILES. 85 

through the newly laid out garden of the Trustees. 
Meanwhile "aright good feast" was prepared for 
them, and they were regaled with " very fine whole- 
some English beer." And, as otherwise much love 
and friendliness were sheAvn them by the inhabi- 
tants, and as the beautiful situation round about 
pleased them, they were in fine spirits, and their joy 
was consecrated by praise to God. 

The pastors Gronau and Bolzius, with the com- 
missary Von Reck, and Dr. Zweitzer were lodged 
in the house of the Reverend Mr. Quincy,^ " whom 
they had met at Charlestown, on his return from a 
visit which he had been paying to his parents in 
Boston, Massachusetts, when he obligingly offered 
them the accommodation. For the emigrants bar- 
racks and tents were provided till the return of the 
General from Charlestown, whither he had gone to 
take passage for England, " but out of good will to 
the Saltzburgers, he put off his voyage for some 
days, and was resolved to see them settled before 
he went."^ He had promised them that they 

" The Rev. Samuel Quincy, a native of Boston, Massachusetts, 
having been educated in England, and received priest's orders on 
the 28th of October, 1730, by Dr. Waugh, Bishop of Carlisle, was, in 
1734 sent, by the Society for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign 
Parts, as a missionary to Georgia. 

' Extract from a manuscript of Von Reek's Journal, furnished 
me by I. K. Tefft, Esq. of Savannah. 



\^ 



86 A PLACE SELECTED FOR THE EXILES. 

should have liberty to choose such part of the coun- 
try as they thought most convenient, fertile and 
pleasant ; and that he would go out with some of 
their elders, and select a place to their liking. 
They desired one at a distance from the sea, on 
gently rising ground, with intervening vales, near 
springs of water, and on the border of a small river, 
or clear brook ; such being the nature of the region 
where they were born. To fulfil this engagement, 
immediately after his return, attended with Paul 
Jenys, Esq., Speaker of the House of Assembly of 
South Carolina, and some other gentlemen, he set 
out on the 15th of March, with Baron Von Reck, 
the commissary, Mr. Gronau, one of the ministers, 
Mr. Zweitzer their Doctor, and one of the elders, 
taking some Indians as guides, to explore the part 
of the country which answered to the description 
of the Saltzburgers. They went up the river in 
boats as far as Mr. Musgrove's cow-pens, where 
horses were got ready ; and, after a ride of about 
fifteen miles, westward, through the woods, they 
arrived at the banks of a river, eighty feet wide, 
and twelve deep, with high banks. The adja- 
cent country was hilly, with valleys of cane-land, 
intersected with little brooks, and bordered with 
springs of water. The Saltzburgers were extremely 
pleased with the place, and adopted it They •' 



PLACE NAMED EBENEZER. 87 

then kneeled down by the river side, and devoutly 
thanked God for bringing them out of their perse- 
cutions, safe through so many dangers, into a land 
of rest ; in memorial of which, they desired that 
the place might be called Ebenezer — " Hitherto 
the Lord hath helped us !*' With the Bible in 
their hands, they then marched up to a site which 
was judged most proper to build upon ; sung an 
hymn, and the pastor pronounced a benediction. 

Having thus assigned to the exiles, " a local 
habitation and a name," they all went to Abercorn, 
a village lately built, about the distance of six miles. 
Thence the commissary and his companions return- 
ed to Savannah, and Oglethorpe, with the speaker, 
went to Purrysburgh on the 18th in order to row 
up the river to the Palachocolas Indians, but the 
floods from the Cherokee mountains had so swelled 
the freshes, as to make that passage too tedious. 
They, therefore, went back to Abercorn, and thence 
to the designed settlement of the Saltzburgers, 
where Oglethorpe, parting with his honorable friend, 
crossed the river with the Indians, and renewed his 
excursion to Palachocolas. There he found a fort 
erected at the lowest passage of the river, and forty- 
five miles from Savannah. Returning from this 
visit, as he entered Ebenezer he found eight of the 
most able-bodied men at work, with their minister 



88 SETTLEBIENT COMMENCED. 

Gronau, in constructing booths and tents against 
the arrival of the famihes. In furtherance of their 
labors, he laid out the town, and directed the car- 
penters, who had arrived also in obedience to his 
orders, to assist in building six houses. 

These attentions to the accommodation of the 
poor Protestants were gratefully acknowledged, and 
are recorded in the journal of the Reverend Mr. 
Bolzius, with a respectful tribute to the religious 
character of Oglethorpe, of which the following is 
a translation ; ' " So far as we can conclude from a 
short acquaintance with him, he is a man who has 
a great reverence for God, and his holy word and 
ordinances ; a cordial love for the servants and 
children of God ; and who wishes to see the name 
of Christ glorified in all places. So blest have 
been his undertakings and his presence in this land, 
that more has been accomplished by him in one 
year than others would have effected in many. And 
since the people here have had such good cause to 
appreciate his right fatherly disposition, his inde- 
fatigable toil for their welfare, and his illustrious 
qualities, they feel that his departure would be a 
real loss to them. For us he hath cared with a 
most provident solicitude. We unite in prayers for 
him, that God would guide him to his home, make 

* Urlsptjeger, I. p. 91. 



-^.s 

y. 











^rTrwnal bearmgs of OOlj'RTHOKlMi, 




.HOlsrOIlART MICDAL 



SEAL or- the TRTJST.EBS 



^-H^ 



«?s^/-«fe-; 




liujlil HvaXf oi, '/'t/hee. 

))■ * ,/. r. iMuirfi ■.(■ /'till - /'V.v/<. 



OGLETHORPE'S RETURN TO ENGLAND. 89 

his voyage safe and prosperous, and enrich him with 
many blessings ! " 

In journeys often and labors more abundant, he 
returned to Savannah ; and set out from thence on 
the 23d of March, w^ith the Speaker, to Charlestovrn, 
where he arrived on the 27th with a retinue of In- 
dian chiefs, whom he had persuaded to accompany 
him to England. He had rightly judged that it 
would be an advantage to the colony to let some 
of the natives have a sight of England, as it would 
give them a high idea of that kingdom. He had 
gained the consent of Tomo Chichi and Scenawki 
his wife and Toonahowi his nephew ; of Hillispilli, 
the war chief; Apakowtski, Stimalchi, Sintouchi, 
and Hinguithi, five chiefs of the Creek nation ; and 
of Umphichi, a chief from Palachocolas ; with their 
interpreter. 

They embarked in the Aldborough man of war 
on Tuesday, the 7th of May, 1734. 



12 



CHAPTER VI. 

Oglethorpe arrives in England with his Indian Escort — Is welcomed 
by the Trustees — Apartments are provided for the Indians — 
They are introduced to the King and Royal Family — One. of their 
number dies of the small pox — Visit the Archbishop of Canter- 
bury, and Eton College — Shown the public buildings and insti- 
tutions in London — Embark for Georgia — Their arrival. 

The Aldborough arrived at St. Helen's, in the Isle 
of Wight, on the 16th of June, 1734, bringing the 
founder of the new Colony, with the most grati- 
fying accounts of his labors and success. He had 
" laid the foundation of many generations." He 
had made " the desolate wilderness a pleasant por- 
tion ; " and, for its wildlings, had substituted offsets 
which should become " plants of renown." And 
he had brought with him some chiefs of the Indian 
tribes, to testify their accordance with the new 
settlement, and to repeat the expression of their 
desire to receive instruction in the language and 
religion of the settlers. 

When a Roman General returned a conqueror, 



OGLETHORPE'S ARRIVAL. 91 

he entered the Imperial City with a triumphal pro- 
cession, in martial pomp and pageantry, dragging 
at his car the kings and captains he had vanquished. 
But here was a return from a successful campaign, 
not bringing captives taken in battle, but an escort 
of unconquered chieftains, themselves sharers in the 
ovation of benevolence and the triumph of philan- 
thropy. 

Oglethorpe immediately addressed a letter to Sir 
John Phillips, Baronet, notifying him of his return, 
and giving him the pleasing intelligence of the safe 
arrival of the Baron Von Reck, and the Saltzburgers, 
whom he called " a very sensible, active, laborious, 
and pious people." He mentioned their location as 
selected to their liking ; and said that he left them 
busily employed in completing its settlement. He 
added, "An Indian chief, named Tomo Chiehi, the 
Mico, or king of Yamacraw, a man of an excellent 
understanding, is so desirous of having the young 
people taught the English language and religion, 
that, notwithstanding his advanced age, he has 
come over hither with me to obtain means, and 
assistant teachers. He has brought with him a 
young man whom he calls his nephew and next 
heir ; and who has already learned the Lord's 
prayer in the English and Indian language." 

" I shall leave the Indians at my estate, till I go 



92 RECEPTION BY THE TRUSTEES. 

to the city, where I shall have the happiness to 
wait upon you, and to relate all things to you more 
fully ; over which you will rejoice and wonder." ^ 

Having repaired to his house in old Palace-Yard, 
Westminster, he notified the Trustees of his arrival. 
Some of the gentlemen immediately called on him, 
and escorted him to the Georgia office, where he 
received their congratulations, with " expressions 
of their great satisfaction in the eminent services 
which he had performed in behalf of their new set- 
tlement." ^ 

On the evening of the 21st thfey gave a grand 
entertainment in honor of so distinguished an asso- 
ciate ; and heard from him, with admiration, the 
narrative of his achievements.^ 

On a special meeting they " voted their unani- 
mous thanks to him for the ability, zeal, activity, 
and perseverance with which he had conducted the 
affairs of the settlement, and assured him that they 
should ever hold his services in grateful remem- 
brance." 



^ Not having met with an English copy of the letter, I have given 
a version from the German in " Ausfurliche Nachrichten von der 
Salzburgischen en America, von Samuel Uklspueghee, Halle, 
1745. 4to. 

'^ Gentleman's Magazine, June, 1734, p. 327. 

^ London Magazine, June, 1734. 



HONORABLE TRIBUTE. 93 

A publication of the day thus announces his ar- 
rival ; ^ " On the 16th of last month, James Ogle- 
thorpe, Esq., member of Parliament for Haslemere, 
in Surrey, and of the Trustees for establishing the 
Colony of Georgia, arrived in the Aldborough man 
of war, at St. Helen's, on his return from that col- 
ony ; he having had so much generosity and public 
spirit as to go along with the first number of per- 
sons that were sent out for its establishment, where 
he has been ever since ; being resolved to be a 
sharer with them in all the fatigues and dangers 
that might happen, either from the inclemency of a 
new climate, or from any of the accidents that usu- 
ally attend the settlement of a new colony ; and 
not to leave them till he saw them in a condition, 
not only to provide their own subsistence, but to 
defend themselves against any enemy that might 
probably attack them ; all which fatigues and dan- 
gers he exposed himself to, and has undergone at 
his own charge, and without the least view of any 
private advantage or satisfaction, but that which 
every good man must feel in contributing to the 
relief of the distressed, and the public good of his 
country. This is such an action as the Roman his- 
torians, in the times of their greatest virtue, would 

' Political State of Great Britain, Vol. XVIII. p. 19. . 



94 APARTMENTS FOR THE INDIANS. 

have been proud of recording ; and such an one as 
ought not to escape the notice of any man who 
pretends to give an account of the transactions of 
this kingdom." 

His return was congratulated in some very com- 
pHmentary verses ; as was also the arrival of Tomo 
Chichi ; ' and the head of Oglethorpe was proposed 
by Mr. Urban for a prize medal,^ to commemorate 
his benevolence and patriotism. 

Comfortable apartments were provided for the 
Indians in the Georgia office ; and, when they were 
suitably dressed, and had curiously painted their 
faces, according to their custom, Sir Clement Cot- 
terell was sent, on the 1st of August, to the Georgia 
office, whence he took them all, except one who 
was sick with the small pox, and had them con- 
veyed, in three of the King's coaches, drawn by 
six horses, to the palace at Kensington. They 
were received at the door by the body guards, and 
then, by the Duke of Grafton, Lord Chamberlain, 
presented to his Majesty, whom Tomo Chichi ad- 
dressed in the following characteristic terms. 

' Gentleman^ s Magazine, Vol. IV. p. 505. 

^ Gentleman's Magazine, Vol. V. 17S. " The die was brokea 
after a few were struck off." See Editorial note in Gentleman's 
Magazine for July, 17S5, p. 517. I have procured an engraving, of 
the size of the original. 



TOMO CHICHI'S SPEECH TO THE KING. 95 

" Great king ; this day I see the majesty of 
your person, the greatness of your house, and the 
number of your people. I am come in my old 
days ; so I cannot expect to obtain any advantage 
to myself; but I come for the good of the Creeks, 
that they may be informed about the English, and 
be instructed in your language and religion. 1 
present to you, in their name, the feathers of an 
eagle, which is the swiftest of birds, and flieth 
around our nations. These feathers are emblems 
of peace in our land, and have been carried from 
town to town, to witness it. We have brought 
them to you, to be a token and pledge of peace, on 
our part, to be kept on yours. 

" O great king ! whatsoever you shall say to me, 
I will faithfully tell to all the chiefs of the Creek 
nation." 

To this the king replied, — "I am glad of this 
opportunity of assuring you of my regard for the 
people from whom you came ; and I am extremely 
well pleased with the assurance which you have 
brought me from them. I accept, very gratefully, 
this present, as an indication of their good disposi- 
tions towards me and my people ; and shall always 
be ready to show them marks of favor, and purposes 
to promote their welfare." 

They were then introduced to her Majesty, who 



96 INDIANS INTRODUCED TO THE QUEEN. 

was seated on a throne in the great gallery, at- 
tended by ladies of the court and nobility. The 
aged Mico thus addressed her : " I am glad to see 
you this day, and to have the opportunity of be- 
holding the mother of this great nation. As our 
people are now joined with yours, we hope that 
you will be a common mother, and a protectress of 
us and our children." To this her Majesty return- 
ed a courteous answer. 

After this they were introduced to his Royal 
Highness the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cum- 
berland, the Princess of Orange, the Princesses 
Amelia, Caroline, Mary, and Louisa ; and then 
were conducted back to their lodgings. 

On the 3d of August they were greatly afflicted 
by the decease of one of their companions by the 
small pox, notwithstanding the best medical at- 
tendance ; but it occasioned no bad consequences, 
as his associates were with him, and saw that much 
better care was taken of him than could have been 
at home. He was interred, after the manner of 
their country, in St. John's burial ground, West- 
minster. The corpse, sewed up in two blankets, 
with a deal-board under and another over, and tied 
down with a cord, was carried to the grave on a 
bier. There were present only Tomo Chichi, 
three of the chiefs, the upper church- warden, and 



INDIANS VISIT THE ARCHBISHOP. 97 

the grave-digger. When the body was laid in the 
earth, the clothes of the deceased were thrown in; 
after this, a quantity of glass beads and some pieces 
of silver ; the custom of these Indians being to 
bury such effects of the deceased with him. 

As all methods made to console them were dis-, 
regarded, Oglethorpe took them out to his estate| 
that in the country retirement they might have a 
better opportunity to bewail the dead according to 
their custom, and that the change of the place 
might serve to abate their sorrow. 

On the 17th of August, the aged and venerable 
Archbishop of Canterbury' had them taken in his 
boat to Putney, where they were received and en- 
tertained in a very agreeable manner. On taking 
leave, Tomo Chichi intimated his inability, from 
want of a knowledge of the English language, to 
express suitably the acknowledgments of himself 
and his companions of the kind notice taken of 
them. 

The following day they visited his Grace at Lam- 
beth, and endeavored to make known to him how 
deeply affected they were with the ignorance in 
religion in which they and their people were in- 
volved ; and how much they not only needed, but 
desired instruction. In their conference with Dr. 



' Rev. William Wake, D. D. 
13 



Hie 



98 VISIT TO ETON COLLEGE. 



Ljnch, the son-in-law of the Archbishop, the Mico 
was more explicit, and requested that some person 
might be sent to teach them ; more particularly 
their youth. 

On the next day they went to Eton College, and 
were received by the Rev. Dr. George, Dr. Berri- 
man, and the rest of the Fellows present. On 
closing their visit to the school-room, Tomo Chichi 
begged that the lads might have a holiday when 
the Doctor thought proper ; which caused a general 
huzza. They were then shewn the several apart- 
ments of the college, and took a respectful leave. 
Afterwards they went to Windsor, where they were 
graciously received ; and thence to St. George's 
Chapel, where the prebends present named Dr. 
Maynard to compliment the Mico from the Dean 
and Chapter. The following day they went to 
Hampton Court ; saw the royal apartments ; and 
walked in the gardens, where a great concourse of 
people had assembled to see them. After these 
more distinguishing attentions, they were shewn 
the Tower, the public buildings, Greenwich Hos- 
pital, and all the great and interesting spectacles 
in London ; and nothing was neglected that might 
serve to awaken and gratify their curiosity, and to 
impress them with the grandeur and power of the 
British nation. 



THE INDIANS RETURN TO GEORGIA. 99 

After having staid four months, they were taken 
to Gravesend in one of his Majesty's carriages, 
whence they embarked aboard the transport ship, 
the Prince of Wales, George Dunbar, Captain, on 
the return voyage to Savannah, where they arrived 
on the 27th of December, 1734. 

Captain Dunbar, in a letter to the Trustees, an- 
nouncing his remarkably quick and prosperous pas- 
sage across the Atlantic, wrote thus : " We arrived 
here all cheerful and in good health. The Indians 
behaved with their accustomed modesty ; as did 
also, the Saltzburgers, who are a sober and pious 
people, and gave much less trouble than I expect- 
ed ; nor do I think any of them were dissatisfied 
while on board." In conclusion, he added, " Tomo 
Chichi, Toonahowi, Hillispilli, and Umpichi were 
so kind as to come on board on the morning of our 
intended departure to see me. They have a very 
grateful remembrance of the many civilities which 
they received in England, and desire me to inform 
your honors that Santechi has gone to the Upper 
and Middle Creeks, who are at present extremely 
well disposed to the British interest, and their 
deputies are expected down in two months." ^ 



' London Magazine for March, 1735, p. 162. See also the whole 
letter, ia the Political State of Great Britain, April, 1735, p. 374. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Oglethorpe remains in England — Trustees make Regulations — 
Oglethorpe, desirous of providing for the conversion of the In- 
dians, applies to Bishop Wilson to prepare a Book of Religious 
Instruction for them — Trustees seek for Missionaries — Engage 
John and Charles Wesley. 

Oglethorpe remained in England to attend to his 
duties as a member of Parliament, and to suggest 
to the Trustees measures for the furtherance of the 
settlement of Georgia. 

In consequence of the information which he could 
give from his personal observation, and that which 
he had received from others, respecting the state of 
the colony, and what would be expedient for its 
advancement in good order and prosperity, the Trus- 
tees prepared a regulation, which was enacted by 
the government into a law, " for maintaining peace 
with the Indians." This included the provisions 
and immunities of the act of the General Assembly 



REGULATIONS BY THE TRUSTEES. IQl 

of South Carolina in 1731 ; and, of course, was 
accordant with the relations and mutual interests of 
both Provinces. There was, also, passed a law for 
a like salutary purpose for preventing trouble with 
the Indians, as well as preserving the health and 
morals of the people already settled or that might 
be settled in their new colony, from the pernicious 
effects of spirituous liquors, entitled "An act to 
prevent the importation and use of rum and bran- 
dies into the Province of Georgia, or any kind of 
ardent spirits or strong waters whatsoever." A 
writer of the day makes this remark, "At the same 
time the Trustees endeavored to supply the stores 
with strong beer from England, molasses for brew- 
ing beer, and with Madeira wines ; which the people 
might purchase at reasonable rates, which would be 
more refreshing and wholesome for themJ^^ 

An unchecked indulgence in ardent spirits has 
ever been followed by lamentable effects. It de- 
moralizes the conduct, destroys health, prevents 
usefulness, and ruins reputation. It breaks up do- 
mestic peace, wastes property, leads to impoverish- 
ed circumstances, and entails wretchedness upon 
the members of the family of which the head was 

' Account, showing the Progress of the Colony of Georgia in 
America, from its first establishment : published by Order of the 
Trustees. Lond. 1741 ; page 16, under the year 1734. 



102 KEGULATIONS — REASONS FOR. 

the victim. The prohibition, therefore, if it led to 
the disuse of the dangerous potation, would have 
been the present removal, and prevented the sub- 
sequent extension, of one of the greatest evils 
w^hich has corrupted the social condition. 

To these prudent and salutary regulations fol- 
lowed a statute entitled " An act for rendering the 
Province of Georgia more defencible, by prohibit- 
ing the importation of black slaves, or negroes, into 
the same." For this enactment, besides the con- 
sideration stated in the title, the following reasons 
are assigned: 1. On account of the cost of pur- 
chase, which, the settlers themselves being too poor 
to defray, must be met by the Trustees ; on whom 
it would be a tax greater than they had funds to 
pay, or believed that they could obtain. 2. Be- 
cause of the additional expense of their after main- 
tenance, which must be provided, in addition to 
that already incurred for the support of those by 
whom they were to be employed. And 3. be- 
cause the Trustees were desirous that the settlers 
should acquire the habits of labor and industry, of 
economy and thrift, by personal application.* 

' See their reasons at large in the publication entitled Impartial 
Inquiry into the State and Utility of the Province of Georgia, Lond. 
1741 ; or in Collections of the Georgia Historical Society, Vol. I. 
pages 166-173, and McCall's History, Vol. I. p. 25, «fcc. 



GOVERNOR BELCHER'S LETTER. 103 

It is remarked by Mr. Burke, that " These reg- 
ulations, though well intended, and indeed meant 
to bring about very excellent purposes, yet might 
at first, as it did afterwards, appear, that they were 
made without sufficiently consulting the nature of 
the country, or the disposition of the people which 
they regarded." ^ 

Governor Belcher, of Massachusetts, in a letter 
to Lord Egmont, observes, " I have read Mr. Ogle- 
thorpe's state of the new colony of Georgia once 
and again ; and by its harbors, rivers, soil and pro- 
ductions, do not doubt that it must in time make a 
fine addition to the British Empire in America ; and 
1 still insist upon it that the prohibitory regulations 
of the Trustees are essential to its healthy and 
prosperous condition ; and the alteration of the 
Constitution to the advantage of females must give 
great encouragement to first undertakers or settlers, 
as your Lordship observes." ^ 

The visit of the Indians was made subservient to 
the favorite purpose of Oglethorpe, by rousing 
attention to the improvement of the race in knowl- 
edge and religion. At their earliest interviews with 

' European Settlements in America, Vol. IL p. 266. 
* Letter Book, in the archives of the Massachusetts Historical 
Society, Vol. V. p. 254. 



] 04 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION FOR THE INDIANS. 

him, they had expressed a wish that their children 
might be taught to speak and read the English lan- 
guage, and they themselves instructed in the prin- 
ciples of Christianity. From their intercourse with 
the Carolinians for many years, they had been made 
sensible of the superiority which such attainments 
conferred, even where that intercourse had been, 
as it mostly was, with the traders ; but no mission- 
ary had been sent, as in our times, to form them to 
civilization, and " teach them which be the first 
principles of the oracles of God." Oglethorpe felt 
extremely desirous of obtaining for them these ad- 
vantages ; and expressed to the trustees his belief 
that they would readily avail themselves of an 
opportunity for their attainment. In furtherance of 
this most important object, he applied to the Rev- 
erend Dr. Wilson, Bishop of Sodor and Man, to 
prepare a manual of instruction for them. The 
good Bishop compHed with his request with great 
readiness ; and the work was printed at the expense 
of " the Society for propagating the Gospel in 
foreign Parts." The volume was dedicated to the 
Trustees ; and, in the preface, the author states 
that it " was undertaken in consequence of a short 
but entertaining conversation, which he, and some 
others, had with the honorable and worthy Gen- 
eral Oglethorpe, concerning the condition, temper, 



BISHOP WILSON. 105 

and genius of the Indians in the neighborhood of 
Georgia, and those parts of America ; who, as he 
assured us, are a tractable people, and more capable 
of being civilized and of receiving the truths of reli- 
gion than we are generally made to believe, if some 
hindrances were removed, and proper measures 
taken to awaken in them a sense of their true in- 
terest, and of their unhappy condition, while they 
continue in their present state." 

"And, indeed, that most worthy gentleman's great 
and generous concern for both the present and future 
interest of these nations, and his earnest desire and 
endeavors, so well known, to civilize them first, 
and make them more capable of instruction in the 
ways of religion and civil government, and his 
hearty wishes that something might be done to for- 
ward such good purposes, prevailed with the author, 
however indifferently qualified for such a work, to 
set about the following essay for propagating the 
Gospel amongst the Indians and negroes."^ 

On receiving a copy of this work, when it was 
printed, five years afterwards, from the Reverend 

* The title of the book is, " The Knowledge and Practica of Chris- 
tianity made easy to the meanest capacity ; or, an Essay towards 
an Instruction for the Indians.''^ London, 1740. 12mo. A tenth 
edition was printed in 1764 ; and a translation in French, at Gene- 
va, in 1744. 

14 



106 OGLETHORPE'S LETTER. 

Dr. Thomas Wilson, son of the Bishop, Oglethorpe 
addressed to him the following letter : ^ 

" Frederica, in Georgia, April 24, 1741. 

"Sir, 

" I have received, with not less pleasure than 
profit, the book sent to me by you, which was 
composed by your father. This work breathes so 
strongly the spirit of primitive piety ; its style is so 
clear and simple ; its plan is so easy for minds 
even the most limited, and at the same time so 
well adapted to make them understand the most 
profound mysteries, that it is a true representation 
of the religion in which it instructs its reader. 
Had our Methodists, instead of their lofty imagina- 
tions, been taught enough of the language of the 
Indians to be able to translate this book ; or had 
they been sufficiently instructed to permit them to 
read it with advantage, I doubt not that we should 
immediately see surprising results from it ; but God 
will accomplish his good work by the means which 
he will judge proper to employ. 

" I have written to Mr. Varelst to buy, to the 
amount of five pounds sterling, copies of your 
father's work, and to send them to me. 

' Not finding an English copy I have translated this from the 
French version. 



INTENDED MISSIONARIES. 107 

" Have the kindness to commend me to the 
prayers of a Divine so worthy and pious ; and be 
assured that 1 am, 

" Your affectionate friend, 
and very humble and obedient servant, 

" James Oglethorpe." 

The Trustees were now desirous of obtaining 
proper persons to go to Georgia to teach, and en- 
deavor to convert, the Indians ; and to officiate as 
chaplains to the colonists at Savannah, and at the 
new town about to be built on the island of St. 
Simons. They fixed their eyes upon Mr. John 
Wesley and some of his associates, as very proper 
for such a mission. The amiable and excellent 
Dr. John Burton,^ one of the Board, who was well 
acquainted with Wesley, having learned that he 
was in London, went thither himself, in order to 
accompany him to Oglethorpe, with whom, indeed, 

1 When the settling of Georgia was in agitation, in 1732, Dr. 
Burton was sohcited by the "excellent Dr. Bray, and other Episcopal 
Clergymen,* to give his assistance in promoting that undertaking. 
Accordingly he preached a Sermon in its recommendation before 
the Society for conducting it ; and his Discourse was afterwards 
published, with an Appendix concerning the State of the Colony. 
BENTiiAM, de vita et moribus Johannis Burtoni. 8vo. London, 
1771, page 12. 

* Rev. Dr. Hales, Dr. Berriman, and others. 



108 WESLEYS, INGHAM, AND DELAMOTTE. 

he was already acquainted by family attentions as 
well as public fame. The matter was proposed to 
Wesley, and strongly urged by such arguments as 
they thought most likely to dispose his mind to 
accept the proposal/ Several influential friends 
concurred in advising him to go ; and, as even his 
mother encouraged it, he yielded his compliance. 
His brother Charles agreed to accompany him, as 
did Benjamin Ingham, a member of their associa- 
tion at Oxford, and Charles Delamotte, son of a 
merchant in London. 

In consequence of this engagement of the Wes- 
leys, the General deemed it highly proper to visit 
their venerable and excellent parents at Epworth, 
not only to confirm their consent, but to communi- 
cate to them such information as should interest 
them strongly in every measure which aimed at the 
instruction, civilization, and christianizing of the 
natives of Georgia, from whom he and the new 
settlers had met so kind a reception. A reference 
to this, gives me the opportunity of introducing a 
letter from that aged minister, the Reverend Sam- 
uel Wesley, written rather more than a year before, 
in which he mentions the progress which he had 

' Life of the Rev. John Wesley, and of the Rev. Charles Wes- 
ley, his brother, by the Rev. Henry Moore. 8vo. Lend. 1824. 
2 vol. Vol. I. p. 334. This interview was on the 28th of April, 1735. 



SAMUEL WESLEY. 109 

made in a work that he was about to publish, and 
acknowledges the obligations which he was under 
to the General for kindnesses shown to himself and 



^ ^ " Epworth, July 6, 1734. 

" Honored Sir, 

" May I be admitted, while such crowds of our 
nobility and gentry are pouring in their congratu- 
lations, to press with my poor mite of thanks into 
the presence of one who so well deserves the title 

of UNIVERSAL BENEFACTOR OF MANKIND. It is UOt 

only your valuable favors on many accounts to my 
son, late of Westminster, and myself, when I was 
not a little pressed in the world, nor your more 
extensive charity to the poor prisoners ; it is not 
these only that so much demand my warmest ac- 
knowledgments, as your disinterested and immov- 
able attachment to your country, and your raising a 
new Colony, or rather a little world of your own in 
the midst of wild woods and uncultivated deserts, 
where men may live free and happy, if they are 
not hindered by their own stupidity and folly, in 
spite of the unkindness of their brother mortals. 
" I owe you, sir, besides this, some account of 

^ This letter is not in the " Memoirs of the Wesley Family," pub- 
lished by Dr. Adam Clarke in 1822; having been recently dis- 
covered. 



no LETTER TO OGLETHORPE. 

my little affairs since the beginning of your expedi- 
tion. Notwithstanding my own and my son's vio- 
lent illness, which held me half a year, and him 
above twelve months, I have made a shift to get 
more than three parts in four of my Dissertations 
on Job printed off, and both the paper, printing, 
and maps, hitherto, paid for. My son John at Ox- 
ford, now that his elder brother has gone to Tiver- 
ton, talies care of the remainder of the impression 
at London, and I have an ingenious artist here 
with me in my house at Ep worth who is graving 
and working off the remaining maps and figures 
for me ; so that I hope, if the printer does not 
hinder me, I shall have the whole ready by next 
spring, and, by God's leave, I shall be in London 
myself to deliver the books perfect. I print five 
hundred copies, as in my proposals ; whereof I have 
about three hundred already subscribed for ; and, 
among my subscribers, fifteen or sixteen English 
Bishops, with some of Ireland. 

"If you will please herewith to accept the tender 
of my most sincere respect and gratitude, you will 
thereby confer one further obligation, honored sir, 
on 

" Your most obedient and humble servant, 
" Samuel Wesley." 

*' To James Oglethorpe, Esq/' 



POETICAL RHAPSODY. HI 

It appears, from a list of subscriptions annexed 
to Mr. Wesley's Dissertations on the Book of Job, 
that General Oglethorpe took seven copies of the 
work on large paper, which would amount to at 
least twenty pounds. 

The elder son of the Rector, also, paid a tribute 
of respect to the General ; and this in harmonious 
and polished verses ; in which, however, he in- 
dulged, too freely, the poetic license in highly 
wrought description of the settlement of Georgia, 
and of the climate and productions of the region.^ 

As our narrative is brought near to the period 
when the General is about to return thither, it may 
be pertinent to introduce a short extract, in which 
the poet addresses the new settlers, eagerly expect- 
ing his arrival. 

" See once again, see on your shores descend 
Your generous leader, your unwearied friend ! 
No storm or chance his vessel thither drives, 
No ! to secure and bless you, he arrives. 

^ Georgia, a Poem ; ToMO Chichi, an Ode ; and a copy of Verses 
on Mr. Oglethorpe's Second Voyage to Georgia. These were 
beautifully printed, in a large type, on nineteen folio pages. They 
were ascribed to Samuel Wesley, as their author, in the tract en- 
titled " True and Historical Narrative of the Colony of Georgia, by 
P. Telfair and others. Charlestown, S. C. 1741, page xi. of the 
Preface. 



112 ON OGLETHORPE'S RETURN. 

To Heaven the praise, — and thanks to him repay, 

And let remotest times respect the day. 

He comes, whose life, while absent from your view, 

Was one continued ministry for you ; 

For you he laid out all his pains and art, 

Won every will, and softened every heart. 

With what paternal joy shall he relate 

How views the mother Isle your little State ; 

How aids the Senate, how the nation loves, 

How George protects, and Caroline approves I — 

A thousand pleasures crowd into his breast. 

But one, one mighty thought absorbs the rest, 

* And give me. Heaven, to see, (the Patriot cries), 



Another Britain in the desert rise ! '" 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Trustees make a new selection of Settlers — Their Proposals suc- 
cessful in Scotland — Embarkation of Highlanders for Georgia — 
Indian hieroglyphic letter sent to the Trustees — Further emigra- 
tion of Saltzburgers — Great embarkation of Colonists, attended 
by Oglethorpe and the Missionaries — Employment and religious 
exercises on board during the voyage — Arrival — Beacon on the 
Island of Tybee — The people go on shore at Peeper's Island — 
Oglethorpe goes to Savannah with the Missionaries — Sends 
provisions and refreshments to the Emigrants — Moore's account 
of the Public Garden — Tomo Chichi welcomes his friend — 
Saltzburgers make application for a removal from Ebenezer — 
Oglethorpe sends pioneers to lay out a road to Darien. 

" Some of the first settlers had proved as idle and 
useless members of society in America, as they had 
been in Great Britain ;" and, as their external wants 
had been supplied from the common store, they 
felt no stimulus to industry or frugality. 

The Trustees, finding that the conduct of these 
drones and loungers tended rather to impede than 
promote their benevolent intentions, began to look 

15 



114 NEW SELECTION OF SETTLERS. 

round for a better stock of settlers ; a hardy race, 
with good habits ; such as were accustomed to 
laborious occupation and agricultural pursuits. 

That all persons who should be disposed to go 
to Georgia, might be fully apprized of the several 
conditions which they were to perform, and of what 
was expected, and, indeed, would be required of 
them, in return for the assistance and support that 
would be afforded them, a statement was made, 
and rules and regulations were drawn up, printed 
and circulated ; in which the Trustees indicated 
the qualifications of such as offered themselves, with 
the expectation of being engaged/ They examined, 
at their office, such persons as applied for the benefit 
of the charity ; and, out of these selected those who 
had the best characters, and were the truest and 
most deserving objects of compassion.^ They very 
explicitly and frankly acquainted the applicants 
with the inconveniences to which they would be 
subjected, and the hardships which they must ex- 
pect to endure. They told them that on their ar- 
rival they would be under the necessity of living in 
slight hovels, till they could form materials for the 
construction of houses ; that they must use great 

' Account, shelving the Progress of the Colony of Georgia. Lond. 
1741. Appendix to the Volume, No. 3 and 4. 
* Moore's Fo2/a^e,page 10. 



COUNSEL TO SETTLERS. 115 

provident foresight to acquire comfortable subsist- 
ence, for their wants were to be supplied only till 
their industry brought in returns. They remarked 
to them that they, indeed, gave them lands, and fur- 
nished them rations for a year, but these lands were 
to be cleared up and tilled, in order to yield crops ; 
that they must eat salt meat, and drink only beer 
or water. They reminded them, with solemn cau-- 
tion, that the sicknesses, to which a change of 
climate would expose them, were most dangerous 
to those who drank distilled liquors ; so that tem- 
perance, which was every where commendable and 
salutary, would be absolutely necessary to preserve 
health. Finally, they were plainly told that if they 
were distrustful, or reluctant at putting forth their 
strenuous exertions, they must not engage in the 
undertaking. 

Several were disheartened ; but their place was 
soon filled up by others, who thought these difficul- 
ties not very great ; and that, whatever they might 
be, they could encounter them ; and that they 
could submit to temporary inconveniences, and per- 
severe in efforts, stimulated by the proffered en- 
couragement and aid. 

In Scotland the proposals of the Trustees met 
with such success that, at Inverness and its vicinity, 
one hundred and thirty Highlanders were enrolled 



116 SCOTCH HIGHLANDERS. 

for emigration. These, with fifty women and child- 
ren, were transported to Georgia, where they ar- 
rived in the month of January, 1735; and with 
them came several private io;rantees, with their ser- 
vants. The Scots were destined to settle on the 
frontiers, for the protection and defence of the 
province. After tarrying a few days at Savannah, 
they conveyed themselves in periaguas, to the south- 
ward ; and, ascending the Alatamaha river about 
sixteen miles from St. Simons, pitched upon a place 
for a residence, where they soon raised a little fort, 
in which they mounted four pieces of cannon. 
They, also, built a guard-house, a store, and a 
chapel, for they brought a pastor with them ; and 
soon put up several huts for temporary accommo- 
dation, till they could prepare and erect commo- 
dious dwellings. The location, at their desire, 
was called " Darien ;" which name the District 
still bears, and the town they called " New Inver- 
ness," a name no longer retained.^ 

While Oglethorpe was in England, what was 
intended for a letter was sent over to the Trustees. 
It was composed by a chief of the Cherokees, 
drawn and curiously marked in red and black fig- 
ures on the skin of a young buffalo, neatly dressed. 

^ In the early publications this is written with the article — " the 
Darien." 



INDIAN HIEROGLYPHIC LETTER. 117 

A translation into English had been made from the 
Indian interpretation, when first delivered, in the 
presence of above fifty of their chiefs, and of the 
principal inhabitants of Savannah. It contained 
the grateful acknowledgment of the Indians of the 
honors and civilities shown to Tomo Chichi and his 
companions ; their admiration of the grandeur of 
the British Court and kingdom ; and declared their 
strong attachment to General Oglethorpe. 

This hieroglyphic painting was set in a frame, 
and hung up in the Georgia office in Westminster.' 

To provide for the raising of silk-worms and 
winding the thread from the cocoons, was an early 
purpose of the Trustees. Liberal encouragement 
was given by the Government and the Board of 
Trade to the importation of all that could be pro- 
duced. Samples had been sent to England which 
gave promise of success. In the beginning of May, 
this year, the Trustees and Sir Thomas Lombe, 
waited on the Queen with a specimen, who was 
highly gratified with learning that a British Colony 
had produced such silk, and desired that the fabric 
into which it should be wrought might be shewn 
her. Accordingly, on the 21st of October, these 
gentlemen, with Mr. Booth, the weaver, again 

^ American Gazetteer. Lond. 1762. 12mo. Vol. II., article 
" Georgia." 



113 QUEEN'S SILK DRESS. 

waited on her Majesty with a piece of the manu- 
factured silk ; and she expressed great admiration 
of the beauty and fineness of the silk, and the rich- 
ness of the pattern ; and, as a further testimony of 
her satisfaction both with the produce and the man- 
ufacture, she ordered a suit to be made up imme- 
diately for her own wear, in which she appeared 
on her birth-day.^ To this, a poet of the time, in 
a description of the products of Georgia, thus al- 
ludes — 

" The merchant hence the unwrought silk imports, 
To which we owe the attire of Queens and Courts." ' 

A large number of intended emigrants having 
been enrolled, Oglethorpe had been most busily en- 
gaged for several months in making preparations 
for their embarkation. Various tools were to be 
collected, suits and changes of raiment prepared, 
articles of maintenance selected and packed for the 
public store at Savannah, and accommodations and 
provisions got ready for the voyage. The inde- 
fatigable leader of the expedition gave his personal 
attendance and directions, and saw that every thing 
was in the train of accomplishment, aided by the 

» Political State of Europe, Vol. L. p. 242, and 469. 
^ Neio Voyage to Georgia, p. 61. 



GREAT EMBARKATION. 119 

services and supervision of Mr. Francis Moore, 
whom the Trustees had appointed keeper of the 
stores. Oglethorpe had become acquainted with 
this gentleman as Factor to the Royal African So- 
ciety, and as having had the charge of Job Jalla 
ben Solomon, the African Prince, whom the Com- 
pany sent back to Africa. 

There were two ships freighted, the Symond, of 
two hundred and twenty tons. Captain Joseph Cor- 
nish, master ; and the London Merchant, of about 
the same burden. Captain John Thomas, master ; 
and one of his Majesty's sloops, under the com- 
mand of Captain James Gascoigne, was ordered to 
assist the Colony, and carry over the General, who 
intended to inspect the settlement ; but he chose 
to go in one of the ships, though crowded with the 
emigrants, "that he might be able to take care of 
the people on the passage." 

" The whole embarkation amounted to two 
hundred and twenty people on the Trust's account, 
besides Mr. Oglethorpe and the gentlemen with 
him, and his servants, whose passage he himself 
paid."^ 

' Voyage to Georgia^ begun in the year 1735 ; by Francis Moore, 
8vo. London, 1744, page 11. The author accompanied General 
Oglethorpe on what is called " the great embarkation," as keeper of 
the stores. The first date in the book is " 15th of October, 1735," 



\ 



120 SECOND EMBARKATION. 

Among the adventurers in this embarkation, 
lured bj the accounts which had been published in 
England, of the delightful region of Georgia, were 
Sir Francis Bathurst, his son, three daughters, and 
servants ; as also several relatives of the planters 
already settled there.' 

I copy from Boyer^s Political State of Great Bri- 
tain,^ the following particulars. " On the 13th of 
October, 1735, embarked on board the London 
Merchant, Captain Thomas, commander, fifty-six 
men, women, and children, Saltzburgers, and some 
other persecuted protestants from Germany, with 
Mr. Von Reck, who conducted from the same parts 
a former transport in 1733, and Captain Herms- 1 
dorf, going to settle with their countrymen in 

and the last, "22d of June, 1736." He resided at St. Simons, and 
was " Recorder at Frederica." By an advertisement, at the end of 
this volume, we learn that he made another voyage to Georgia in 
1738, where he continued till 1743, when he returned to England. 
During his residence, he kept a Journal, "in which is an account of 
the siege of St. Augustine, in 1740, and of the Spanish invasion, in 
1742. He adds, " I think myself obliged to acquaint the public that 
if I find the foregoing well received, I shall, without delay, publish 
my other Journal, as, also, a continuance of this, containing the 
treaty with the Governor of Augustine, and the regulation of sev- 
eral matters, relating to the Indian nations." That the Journal 
was not published is greatly to be regretted. 

* Salmon's Modern History, Vol. III. p. 602. 

* Vol. L. page 468, 



EMIGRANTS EMBARK. 121 

Georgia. The charge of their subsistence in their 
long journey from Ratisbon and Augsburg to Rot- 
terdam, and from thence to London, and their ex- 
pense at London till they went on board, was de- 
frayed by the Society for the propagation of the Gos- 
pel in foreign Parts, out of the collections commit- 
ted to them for that purpose. Of this Society 
Oglethorpe was a member. The charge of their 
voyage to Georgia, with their maintenance there 
for one year, and for the arms, utensils, and other 
necessary articles and provisions which they took 
from hence with them, was defrayed by the honor- 
able Trustees for establishing the colony. 

" The next day James Oglethorpe, Esq., set out 
by land for Gravesend, and the Reverend Mr. John 
Wesley, Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford, and 
the Reverend Mr. Charles Wesley, Student of 
Christ's Church College, and the Reverend Mr. 
Ingham, of Queen's, went thither by water, in or- 
der to embark on board the Symond, Captain Cor- 
nish, Commander ; on board of which ship went 
likewise a great number of poor English families, 
at the expense of the trustees ; and soon after 
these, two ships sailed together in company for 
Georgia. One of the above named clergymen is 
to settle at the new town of Savannah, in that col- 
ony ; and the other two intend, (after some stay at 
16 



122 OF THE CLERICAL MISSIONARIES. 

Savannah, to learn the Indian language,) to devote 
themselves to preaching the Gospel of our Saviour 
Jesus Christ to the Indian nations bordering upon 
that colony; which might certainly be done with 
great effect, if men would but content themselves 
with inculcating and enforcing the rational and plain 
doctrines taught by Christ himself, without pre- 
tending to explain what have since been called the 
mysteries of the Christian religion, which serve only 
to divide Christians among themselves, and have 
very much prevented the conversion of heathens in 
all countries, and in all ages." 

As the periodical publication, from which this 
paragraph is extracted, was the channel through 
which official information respecting the settlement 
and affairs of Georgia was communicated, the sug- 
gestion with which it is closed is to be understood 
as the opinion of the Trustees. And when we re- 
collect the character of those who composed the 
Board, it may be considered as the dictate of sound 
judgment, and worthy of heedful observance. 

The attention of Oglethorpe to the persons and 
condition of the emigrants, was assiduous, consid- 
erate, and kind. " He had laid in a large quantity 
of live stock and various refreshments, though he 
himself seldom eat any but ship's provisions. Not 
only the gentlemen, his friends, sat at his table, but 



SERVICES ON BOARD. 123 

he invited, through the whole of the passage, the 
missionaries and the captain of the ship, who, to- 
gether made twelve in number."^ 

They had prayers twice a day. The missiona- 
ries expounded the scriptures, catechized the child- 
ren, and administered the sacrament on Sundays ; 
but, though the crew consisted of Episcopalians, 
Methodists, German Lutherans, and Moravians, 
" Oglethorpe showed no discountenance to any for 
being of different persuasions of religion." 

" When occasion offered, he called together those 
who designed to be freeholders, and instructed 
them in what manner to behave themselves, and 
acquainted them with the nature of the country, 
and how to settle it advantageously. He con- 
stantly visited the sick, and let them have fowls for 
broth, and any refreshments of his own ; and ad- 
ministered medicine, personally, where it was pro- 
per. Whenever the weather was calm enough to 
permit it, he went on board the London Merchant, 
with which company was kept all the way, to see 
that the like care was taken of the people there." ^ 

The Journal of Wesley gives many details of the 
voyage ; but, as they relate principally to the man- 
ner in which he and his brother and two friends 

^ Moore's Voyage, p. 11.' * Moore, p. 12. 



124 ANECDOTE OF OGLETHORPE. 

spent their time, I pass them over, but quote the 
following anecdote from one of his biographers.' 
" Mr. Wesley hearing an unusual noise in the cabin 
of General Oglethorpe, stepped in to inquire the 
cause of it. On which the General thus addressed 
him : ' Mr. Wesley you must excuse me. I have 
met with a provocation too much for a man to bear. 
You know that the only wine I drink is Cyprus 
wine, as it agrees with me the best of any. I there- 
fore provided myself with several dozens of it, and 
this villain Grimaldi' (his foreign servant, who 
stood trembling with fear,) has drunk up the whole 
of it. But I will be revenged on him. I have 
ordered him to be tied hand and foot, and carried 
to the man of war that sails with us. The rascal 
should have taken care not to have served me so, 
for I never forgive.' — 'Then I hope, sir,' (said 
Wesley, looking calmly at him) ' you never sin.' 
The General was confounded at the reproof; and, 
putting his hand into his pocket, took out a bunch 
of keys, which he threw at Grimaldi, saying, ' There,, 
take my keys, and behave better for the future ! ' " 
While this was a happy verification of the remark 
of the wise man, that " a soft answer turneth away 
wrath," it is a pleasing indication of the yielding 

' Rev. Henry Moore, Vol. 11. p. 258. 



TYBEE LIGHT-HOUSE. 125 

placability of him to whom it was addressed. — 
" The discretion of a man deferreth his anger, and 
it is his glory to pass over a transgression." 

The ships, which bore this large accession to the 
Colony, passed the bar of the Tybee on the after- 
noon of Thursday, February 5th, 1736, and came 
to anchor. This island is at the mouth of the 
Savannah river ; is five miles long, and three broad ; 
and is the most easterly land in the State. Ogle- 
thorpe went immediately on shore, to see what had 
been done towards raising the beacon on the island, 
for the construction of which he had given orders. 
" It was to be an octagon building of squared tim- 
ber ; its dimensions twenty-five feet wide at the 
bottom, and ten at the top ; and its height ninety 
feet, with a flag-stafif on the top thirty feet high. 
When completed, it would be of great service to 
all shipping, not only the vessels bound to this port, 
but also to Carolina ; for the land of the coast, for 
some hundred miles, is so alike, being low and 
woody, that a distinguishing mark is of great con- 
sequence." ^ 

They had experienced a tempestuous voyage, 
and had a very rough passage ; but now the weather 
was fine ; the land breezes refreshed them as the 

* Moore's Voyage, p. 18. 



126 ARRIVAL IN THE SAVANNAH. 

ships lay quietly moored ; and they hailed with 
delight the land of promise, the borders of which 
stretched before them ; where, says Wesley, " the 
groves of pines along the shores made an agreeable 
prospect, showing, as it were, the verdure and 
bloom of spring in the depth of winter." A night 
of peaceful slumber passed ; and, about eight o'clock 
on Friday morning, they went ashore on a small un- 
inhabited island,^ where Oglethorpe led them to a 
rising ground, and they all knelt and returned thanks 
to God for their safe arrival. Leaving the people, 
as there was a fine spring, and a pond of pure 
water, to wash their clothes, and refresh them- 
selves, he went himself, attended by his suite, in 
a boat to Savannah, where he was received, under 
the discharge of all their cannon, by the freeholders 
in arms, with the constables and tithing men at 
their head. He introduced to them the clergymen 
and gentlemen by whom he was accompanied ; and 
congratulated the colonists on the religious advan- 
tages which they were about to derive from these 
pious missionaries : and here they passed the Sun- 
day. Just three years had elapsed since the settle- 
ment commenced, and the celebration of the anni- 
versary on the opening week was rendered more 

' Peeper Island. 



PLEASANT RECEPTION. 127 

observable and gladdening by the return of the 
founder to share and grace the festivities of the 
occasion. But, amidst all the greetings and in- 
quiries of the throng around him, he was not un- 
mindful of the new comers. He made it his earliest 
care, as soon as the articles could be got ready, to 
send a boat with provisions and refreshments for 
the people on board the ships and at the island ; 
and soon after made them a visit himself, and car- 
ried with him a still further supply of beef, pork, 
venison and wild turkeys, together with soft bread, 
beer, turnips, and garden greens. This was not 
only peculiarly relishing, after the salted sea-fare 
rations, but gratifying and encouraging, from the 
evidence it gave that a settlement, begun only three 
years ago, by a people in circumstances like theirs, 
could produce such plenty. And, while these atten- 
tions evinced the thoughtful regard of their con- 
ductor to their comfort and welfare, they increased 
their sense of obligation, awakened their gratitude, 
and strengthened their reliance. 

As Oglethorpe went round and visited the fami- 
lies in their dwellings, he was gratified with per- 
ceiving what improvements had been made in the 
town, and its vicinity ; that about two hundred 
houses had been built, trees set out on the sides of 
the streets and public squares ; and a large garden 



128 PUBLIC GARDEN. 

laid out, and now under cultivation. This had en- 
gaged his early attention, and was a favorite project, 
as of general interest and utility. It was situated 
at the east of the town, on the sloping bank, and 
included the alluvial champaign below. It was laid 
out with regularity and taste ; and intended, prima- 
rily, to supply the settlers with legumes, culinary 
roots, radishes and salads, till they could prepare 
homestead-plats for raising them. The principal 
purpose, however, was for a nursery of white mul- 
berry trees for the raising of silk worms ; and from 
which the people could be supplied with young 
trees, that all the families might be more or less 
engaged in this reference to the filature. There 
was, also, a nursery coming on, of apple, pear, 
peach, and plum trees, for transplantation. On the 
borders of the walks were orange, olive, and fig- 
trees, pomegranates, and vines. In the more sunny 
part there was a collection of tropical plants, by way 
of experiment, such as coffee, cacoa, cotton, &c. 
together with some medicinal plants, procured by 
Dr. William Houston in the West Indies, whither 
he had been sent by Sir Hans Sloane to collect 
them for Georgia. The expenses of this mission 
had been provided by a subscription headed by Sir 
Hans, to which his Grace the Duke of Richmond, 
the Earl of Derby, the Lord Peters, and the Apoth- 



DEPUTATION TO PURRYSBURGH. 129 

ecaries Company, liberally contributed. The Doc- 
tor having died at Jamaica, the celebrated botanist, 
Philip Miller was now his successor.' 

All hands were now set to work, some to pre- 
paring houses, barracks, and lodgments for the new 
comers ; some to unlade the vessels and store the 
cargo, and some to extend the wharf. The Gen- 
eral, also, made a contract with persons for laying 
out and clearing the roads, and for making fortifi- 
cations at the south. 

By none, perhaps, was his return more cordially 
welcomed than by Tomo Chichi and Toonahowi. 
They brought with them two Indian runners, who 
had waited two months to give notice to the lower 
and upper Creeks, of his arrival. 

He received, also, the visit of a deputation from 
Purrysburgh, consisting of the Honorable Hector 
Berenger de Beaufain and M. Tisley Dechillon, a 
patrician of Berne, with several other Swiss gen- 
tlemen, to congratulate his return, and acquaint 
him with the condition of their settlement. 

^ " Sir Hans Sloane," says Dr. Pulteny, " was zealous in pro- 
moting the Colony of Georgia." Historical and Biographical Sketch 
of the Progress of Botany in England, Vol. II. p. 85. See a par- 
ticular description of the garden, in Moore's Voyage to Georgia, 
p. 30. 

17 



130 MORAVIAN SETTLEMENT. 

The United Brethren, or Moravians, as they 
were more usually called, who attended the other 
exiled Protestants, began immediately their settle- 
ment near to Savannah. As soon as their personal 
accommodation could be effected, they sought the 
acquaintance of Tomo Chichi, and his little tribe ; 
ingratiated themselves with these their neighbors, 
and, " with money advanced by General Ogle- 
thorpe," ^ built a school-house for the children. 
" This school was called Irene, and lay not far 
from the Indian village." ^ 

The Baron Von Reck, who had been to Ebene- 
zer, returned on the 8th of February, accompanied 
with the Pastors Bolzius and Gronau, with the pe- 
tition of the people for liberty to remove, from the 
fords where they were, to a place ten miles to the 
east of their settlement, called " Red-bluff," at the 
mouth of the river, where it enters the Savannah ; 
and that those of their community who had just 
arrived, instead of being destined to the southward, 
might be united with them and enjoy the benefit 
of their religious instructers and, guides. Before 
giving a decisive answer, Oglethorpe deemed it 

^ Carpzotius, Examination of the Religion of the United Breth- 
ren, p. 417. See Appendix, No. XVII. 

^ Cromz's History of the United B^-ethren, p. 226. It was opened 
on the 15th of September. 



OGLETHORPE GOES TO EBENEZER. 131 

proper to examine their situation, and confer with 
the residents ; and, not to keep them in suspense, 
especially as it was necessary to take immediate 
measures for the accommodation of the new comers, 
agreed to accompany the applicants on their return. 
Accordingly, he set out early on the appointed day, 
in the scout-boat, to the residence of Sir Francis 
Bathurst, six miles above Savannah ; and thence 
took horse, and passed by the saw-mill set up by 
Mr. Walter Augustine, and, continuing his ride 
through the woods, arrived that night at Ebenezer. 
On reconnoitring the place the next day, he found 
that the Saltzburgers had constructed a bridge over 
the river, ten feet wide and eighty feet long ; that 
four good framed houses had been erected at the 
charge of the Trustees, one for each minister, one 
for a schoolmaster, and one for a public store ; and 
that a chapel, a guard-house, and a number of split- 
board houses had been built by the people. All 
these, however, they were resolved to forsake, and 
form a new settlement on the borders of the Savan- 
nah river. Their chief objection to remaining was, 
that the land was not good, and that the corn-har- 
vest had failed ; yet they acknowledged that they 
had a fine crop of peas, and many garden vegeta- 
bles ; that their cattle thrived exceedingly, that 
they had plenty of milk, and fine poultry and eggs. 



132 HONORABLE CHARLES DEMPSEY. 

He endeavored to dissuade them from moving ; but, 
finding their dissatisfaction with their present situa- 
tion to be so decided, he yielded to their importu- 
nity ; ordered a town to be laid out ; and gave his j 
unhesitating consent that the new comers should 
be incorporated with them. He then set out for 
the Swiss settlement, where he arrived in the even- 
ing. He was received with the greatest demon- 
strations of joy, and took lodgings at the house of 
Colonel Purry,* who had provided a handsome en- 
tertainment for him. 

The chief purpose of his visit to this place was 
to engage a conveyance for the Honorable Charles 
Dempsey to St. Augustine. This gentleman had 
come over with him in the Symond, having been 
commissioned by the Spanish Minister in London 
to confer with the Governor of Florida on the sub- 
ject of the boundary between that country and 
Georgia, and to effect some provisional treaty with 
General Oglethorpe.^ A contract was made with 

' John Peter Purry, formerly of Neufchatel. 

^ In the Impartial Inquiry, &c. p. 84, is a deposition which thus 
begins — "Charles Dempset, of the Parish of St. Paul, Covent 
Garden, in the County of Middlesex, Esquire, aged fifty-four years 
and upwards, maketh that in the year one thousand seven hun- 
dred and thirty-five, this deponent went with the Honorable James 
Oglethorpe, Esq. to Georgia, in America, and was sent from thence 
by the said Oglethorpe to St. Augustine with letters to the Gover- 



PIONEERS SENT TO DARIEN. I33 

Major Richard to conduct this gentleman in a six- 
oared boat, being the best to be obtained, to his 
destination ; and to be the bearer of a letter from 
the General, expressing his wish to remove all mis- 
understanding and jealousy. 

On his return to Savannah he sent forw^ard Cap- 
tain Hugh Mackay, Jr. vvith a company of rangers, 
to travel by land to Darien, in order to make ob- 
servations on the intervening country, to compute 
the distance, and to judge of the practicability of a 
passable road ; and Tomo Chichi furnished them 
with Indian guides. 

The next day he attended a military review; 
after which, he addressed the assembled people in 
an animated speech, in which his congratulations, 
counsels, and good wishes were most affectionately 
expressed. And he reminded them that, though 
it was yet " a day of small things," experience 
must have strengthened the inducements to indus- 
try and economy, by shewing them that, where 
they had been regarded, the result had been not 
only competence, but thrift. 

He then took leave of them, and went down to 
the ships at Tybee. 

nor there; that this deponent continued going to and from thence 
until November, one thousand seven hundred and thirty-six," &c' 



CHAPTER IX. 

Special destination of the last Emigrants — Oglethorpe makes 
arrangements for their transportation to the Island of St. Simons 

— Follows with Charles Wesley — Arrives and lays out a Town, 
to be called Frederica — Visits the Highlanders at Darien — Re- 
turns and superintends the building of a Fort — All the people 
arrive — Barracks for the Soldiers put up, and a Battery erected — 
Visited by Tomo Chichi, and Indians, who make a cession of 
the Islands — Reconnoitres the Islands and gives names to them 

— Commissioners from St. Augustine — Apparently amicable 
overtures — Oglethorpe goes to Savannah to hold a conference 
with a Committee from South Carolina respecting trade with the 
Indians — Insolent demand of the Spaniards — Oglethorpe em- 
barks for England. 

As the destination of the large number of intended 
settlers, which had now arrived was " for the pur- 
pose of laying out a county and building a new 
town near the southern frontier of Georgia," and 
the people were waiting to be conducted by the 
General to " the place of habitation," he was very 
active in making arrangements for their transporta- 
tion, and, on the evening of the 16th of February, 



OGLETHORPE GOES TO ST. SIMONS. I35 

1739, set out in the scout-boat,^ through the inward 
channels, to meet, at Jekyl sound, a sloop that he 
had chartered to take on some of the more efficient 
men as pioneers, and to make some preparation for 
the reception of the emigrants.^ He took with him 
Charles Wesley, who was to be his Secretary as 
well as Chaplain ; Mr. Ingham having gone by a 
previous opportunity; and left John Wesley and 
Delamotte at Savannah.^ 

As Oglethorpe was in haste, the men rowed night 
and day, and had no other rest than what they got 
when the wind favored their course ; and " they 
vied with each other who should be forwardest to 
please the General, who, indeed, lightened their 
sense of fatigue by giving them refreshments, which 
he rather spared from himself than let them want."^ 

On the morning of the 18th they arrived at St. 
Simons, an island near the north mouth of the Ala- 
tamaha river, fifteen miles in length, and from two 

^ Appendix, No. XVIII. 

* "The Trustees for establishing the Colony of Georgia in Amer- 
ica, ordered a new town to he built in that Colony, and an embark- 
ation to be made for that purpose." 

^ Many of the particulars in this chapter are taken from the 
Journal of Thomas Mooee, who was present. As that work is 
extremely rare, I adopted its information more verbally than I should 
have done had I anticipated that it was so soon to be republished in 
the Collections of the Georgia Historical Society. 

* Moore, p. 42. 



136 OGLETHORPE VISITS DARIEN. 

to four in breadth. Here the working men and 
carpenters who came in the sloop and long boats, 
disembarked, and were immediately set to work. 

Oglethorpe not only directed and superintended, 
but actually assisted in the labors. They soon got 
up a house and thatched it with palmetto leaves ; 
dug a cellar, and throwing up the earth on each 
side, by way of bank, raised over it a store house ; 
and then marked out a fort. They next con- 
structed several booths, each of which was between 
twenty and forty feet long, and twenty feet wide. 
These were for the reception and temporary shelter 
of the Colonists. 

After this, the General paid a visit to the High- 
landers, at their settlement called " the Darien," a 
distance of sixteen miles on the northern branch of 
the Alatamaha. He found them under arms, in 
their uniform of plaid, equipped with broad swords, 
targets, and muskets ; in which they made a fine 
appearance. In compliment to them, he was that 
morning, and all the time that he was with them, 
dressed in their costume. They had provided him 
a fine soft bed, with Holland sheets, and plaid cur- 
tains ; but he chose to lie upon the ground, and in 
the open air, wrapt in his cloak, as did two other 
gentlemen ; and afterwards his example was fol- 
lowed by the rest of his attendants. 



OGLETHORPE'S CONDESCENSION. 137 

This condescending and accommodating dispo- 
sition not only conciliated the regards of the set- 
tlers, but encouraged them both by example and 
aid in going through their arduous labors, and in 
submitting to the exigences of their situation. 
Happily his constitution was framed to a singular 
temperament, which enabled him to require but 
very little sleep ; and he was capable of enduring 
long and frequent fasting, when imposed upon him 
either by necessity or business, without any observ- 
able prejudice to his health, or any other inconve- 
nience. A gentleman, who was one of the party, 
in a letter, dated 24th of February, 1736, declares, 
" What surprizes me, beyond expression, is his ab- 
stemiousness and hard living. Though even dain- 
ties are plentiful, he makes the least use of them ; 
and such is his hardiness, that he goes through the 
woods wet or dry, as well as any Indian. More- 
over, his humanity so gains upon all here, that I 
have not words to express their regard and esteem 
for him." He further adds, " They have a Min- 
ister here, Mr. McLeod, a very good man, who is 
very useful in instructing the people in religious 
matters, and will intermeddle with no other 
ajBfairs." ^ How commendably prudent, as well as 



' Gentleman's Magazine, 1736, p. 229. 
18 



138 VISIT OF TOMO CHICHI. 

altogether proper, was this avoidance of secular 
topics and party discussions in preaching ; and how 
conducive to social accordance and peace, as well 
as spiritual edification, was soon apparent in the 
lamentable effects of a different use of the minis- 
terial function in the other settlements. 

Having remained a few days with his favorite 
Highland corps, he returned to St. Simons, where 
he found Tomo Chichi, Toonahowi, and a party 
of Indians consisting of about forty men, " all 
chosen warriors and good hunters ; " who had 
come down to show him what Islands they claimed 
.,as having belonged to their nation, but which had 
been ceded to him by treaty, and to which they 
would now give him the formal possession. To 
accomplish this, the General fitted out an expedi- 
tion, to take them with him in the two ten-oared 
boats, with Major Horton, Mr. Tanner, and some 
other gentlemen as his escort ; and a sufficient 
number of able hands both as boat-men and sol- 
diers, and to man the periagua,' with Highlanders 
under the command of Captain Hugh Mackay. 

' The Periagua is a long flat-bottomed boat, carrying from twenty 
to thirty-five tons. It is constructed with a forecastle and a cabin ; 
but the rest is open, and there is no deck. It has two masts, which 
the sailors can strike, and sails like those of schooners. It is rowed, 
generally, with two oars only. 



EXCURSION TO THE ISLANDS. 339 

He the more readily engaged in this excursion 
from an impatient desire to gain intelligence of 
Major Richard, and the deputation to St. Augus- 
tine. . 

They set out on the 18th of March. On the 
first day they visited an island in the mouth of the 
Alatamaha, sixteen miles long, and from one to 
five broad ; opposite the entrance of the great 
Latilla river. By the Indians it was called Wis- 
SOE, Sassafras; but the Spaniards had named it 
San Pedro. Toonahowi, pulling out a watch that 
had been given him by his Royal Highness the 
Duke of Cumberland, desired that it should bear 
his name ; saying, " He gave me this watch, that 
we might know how time went ; and we will re- 
member him while time goes ; and this place must 
have his name, that others may be rerninded of 
him." The General left Captain Mackay and the 
Highlanders here, with directions to build a fort on 
the high ground, commanding the passes of the 
river ; which, at their desire, should be called St. 
Andrews. On the south-east part of this island 
another strong fort was afterwards built, called 
Fort William, which commanded Amelia Sound, 
and the inland passage from St. Augustine. 

On their excursion, the next day, they passed 
the Clogothea, an arm of the Alatamaha, and went 



140 AMELIA ISLAND. 

ashore on a delightful island, about thirteen miles 
long, and two broad, with orange trees, myrtles 
and vines growing on it. The wild-grape vines 
here, as on the borders of the Savannah, grow to 
the very top of the trees, and hang from limb to 
limb in festoons, as if trimmed and twined by art.^ 
The name of this island, Santa Maria, they chang- 
ed to Amelia, in honor of her Royal Highness. 

On the third day they came to an island which 
had borne the name of San Juan ; but claiming it 
as belonging to his Majesty, and the southernmost 
part of his Provinces on the sea-coast of North 
America, they named it George's. 

As they approached the Spanish look-out, [Haser 
centinela'] which is posted on the Florida side of 
the St. John's river, the Indians shewed their de- 
sire of making an assault upon it, as " some of them 
were related to those that had been killed, the 
winter before, by a detachment from St. Augus- 
tine ; and one of them, Poyeechy by name, had 
been wounded by the Spaniards." The General, 
though with much difficulty, persuaded them to 
forbear ; and prevailed upon them to return to 
what is called " the Palmetto ground," near to 
Amelia Island, in one of the scout-boats, under the 

* Journal of the Rev. IVIr. Bolzius, who, it seems, was one of the 
party. See Uelspurger, I. 845. 



PALMETTO GROUND. 141 

care of Major Horton. When they had got en- 
tirely out of sight, he purposed to cross over and 
inquire of the Spanish guard what had become of 
his boat and the commissioner to the Governor of 
Florida.^ 

On going ashore they found no men at the look- 
out, and therefore went down to the lower one, 
which was also deserted. They then set out on 
their return, and passing between the St. George 
and Talbot Island came to the rendezvous at the 
Palmetto ground. There they met Mr. Horton in 
the scout-boat, and some boats of Indians ; but 
Tomo Chichi, with two boats, was gone. 

Here Mr. Moore, whom I follow, narrates a 
serio-comic adventure, which, though it may be, to 
some of my readers, a twice-told tale, will bear 
repeating. 

"About four hours in the night, their sentry 
challenged a boat, and Umpichi, one of those that 
had been in England, answered, and at the same 

* The district, as far as St. John's, was taken from the Spaniards 
in Queen Anne's time; and at the time of the Peace of Utrecht it 
was in the possession of the English allied Indians. Now, since 
by this treaty all lands in America were declared to belong to their 
then present owners, and the said Indians still occupy it, and having 
acknowledged themselves subjects to the King of Great Britain, by 
cession, the territory became his. 



142 ANECDOTE OF .TOMO CHICHI. 

time leaped on shore with four others, and ran 
up to the fires where Mr. Oglethorpe then was. 
They seemed in such a rage as is hardly to be 
described. Their eyes glowed, as it were with 
fire. Some of them foamed at the mouth, and 
moved with such bounds that they seemed rather 
possessed. 

" Mr. Oglethorpe asked Umpichi what the mat- 
ter was. He said ' Tomo Chichi has seen enemies, 
and has sent us to tell it, and to help you.' Being 
asked why the Mico did not come back himself, he 
said, ' He is an old warrior, and will not come away 
from his enemies, who hunt upon our lands, till he 
has seen them so near as to count them. He saw 
their fire, and therefore sent to take care of you, 
who are his friends. He will make a warrior of 
Toonahowi, and, before daylight, will be revenged 
for his men whom they killed whilst he was gone 
to England. But we shall have no honor, for we 
shall not be there.' The rest of the Indians seem- 
ed to catch the raging fits, at not being present. 
Mr. Oglethorpe asked if he thought there were 
many. He said ' Yes ! he thought the enemies 
were a great many, for they had a great fire upon a 
high ground, and the Indians never make large 
fires, but when they are so strong as to despise all 
resistance.' 



OGLETHORPE GOES TO THE MICO. 143 

" Mr. Oglethorpe immediately ordered all his 
people on board, and they rowed very briskly to 
where Tomo Chichi was ; being about four miles 
distant. 

" They found him, with his Indians, with hardly 
any fire, only a few sparks behind a bush, to pre- 
vent discovery ; who told them that they had been 
to see the fire, and had discovered seven or eight 
white men, but the Indians, they believed, had en- 
camped further in the woods, for they had not seen 
them ; but Tomo Chichi was going out again to 
look for the Indians, whom, as soon as he discover- 
ed, he intended to give the signal to attack both 
the parties at once ; one half creeping near, and 
taking each their aim at those whom they saw most 
awake ; and, as soon as they had fired, to run in 
with their hatchets, and at the same time those 
who had not fired to run in with their loaded arms ; 
that if they knew once where the Indians were, 
they would be sure of killing all the white men, 
since they, being round the fire, were easily seen, 
and the same fire hindered them from seeing others. 

" Mr. Oglethorpe tried to dissuade them from 
that attempt, but with great difficulty could obtain 
of them to delay a little time ; they thinking it 
argued cowardice. At last they got up and re- 
solved to go in spite of all his endeavors ; on which 



144 SERIO-COMIC ADVENTURE. 

he told them, ' You certainly go to kill them in the 
night, because you are afraid of seeing them by 
day. Now, I do not fear them. Stay till day, 
and I will go with you, and see who they are.' 

" Tomo Chichi sighed, and sat down, and said, 
' We do not fear them by day ; but if we do not 
kill them by night, they will kill you to-morrow.' 
So they stayed. 

"By daybreak Mr. Oglethorpe and the Mico 
went down with their men, and came to the fire, 
which they thought had been made by enemies, 
which was less than a mile from where the Mico 
had passed the night. They saw a boat there, 
with a white flag flying, and the men proved to be 
Major Richard, and his attendants, returned from 
Augustine. 

" The Indians then seemed ashamed of their 
rage, which inspired them to kill men before they 
knew who they were." 

The meeting, under these circumstances, was 
doubly joyous. After mutual congratulations, he 
was informed by Major Richard that " he was cast 
away before he could get to St. Augustine ; that 
part of the baggage was lost ; but the boat and 
men saved. That, having scrambled through the 
breakers, and walked some leagues through the 
sands, they were met by Don Pedro Lamberto, a 



GOVERNOR OF ST. AUGUSTINE. 145 

Captain of the horse, and by him conducted to the 
Governor, who received them with great civility ; 
and that the reason of his long stay was to get the 
boat repaired." He brought letters from Don Fran- 
cisco del Morale Sanchez, Captain General of Flor- 
ida, and Governor of St. Augustine. These com- 
menced with compliments, thanking him for the 
letters brought by Charles Dempsey, Esq. and Ma- 
jor Richard ; which, however, were followed by 
complaints that the Creek Indians had assaulted 
and driven away the Spanish settlers on the bor- 
ders of the St. Mattheo,^ and intimations of dis- 
pleasure at the threatening appearance of the forts 
which he was erecting, and forces which manned 
them. Major Richard said that the Governor ex- 
pected an answer in three weeks, and desired him 
to bring it. He added, that despatches had been 
sent to the Havana to apprize the Government of 
the arrival of the new settlers, and of the position 
which they had taken. 

" The same day they returned toward St. An- 
drew's ; but not having depth of water enough 
through the narrows of Amelia, the scout-boats 
were obliged to halt there ; but the Indians ad- 
vanced to the south end of Cumberland, where 
they hunted, and carried venison to St. Andrews.*' 

» The St. John's. 
19 



146 FREDERICA LAID OUT. 

Bj the directions and encouragements of the 
General, the works at St. Simons were carried on 
with such expedition, that, by the middle of April, 
the fort, which was a regular work of tabby, a 
composition of oyster shells and lime, was finished; 
and thirty-seven palmetto houses were put up, in 
which all the people might be sheltered till they 
could build better. 

About the centre of the west end of the island, a 
town was laid out, which he called Frederica, 
with wide streets, crossing each other at right 
angles. These were afterwards skirted with rows 
of orange trees. 

The ground being properly divided, " the people, 
who had now all arrived, having been brought in a 
little fleet of periaguas, were put in possession of 
their respective lots, on the 19th of April, in order 
that each man might begin to build and improve 
for himself. But the houses that had been built, 
and the fields that had been tilled and sown, were, 
as yet, to be in common for the public benefit." 

At the south end of the island he caused to be 
erected a strong battery, called Fort St. Simons, 
commanding the entrance to Jekyl sound ; and a 
camp of barracks and some huts. 

In point of situation, a better place for a town, a 
fortress, and a harbor, could hardly be wished in 




- MM" — 

COAST. StA-ISLANOi 
nuA rorly ro.,;... 

_ wr - 



.1' a<>«a«a>v mv 




je. 



Visit of Indians. I47 

that part of the country ; lying, as it does, at the 
mouth of a very fine river. The surface of the 
island was covered with oak and hickory trees, in- 
termixed with meadows and old Indian fields ; the 
soil was rich and fertile, and in all places, where 
they tried, they found fresh water within nine feet 
of the surface.^ 

On the 25th, Oglethorpe and his men, and Ma- 
jor Richard and his attendants, got back to Fred- 
erica. On the next day the Indians arrived, the 
purpose of whose intended visit had been announced 
by Tomo Chichi. Having encamped by them- 
selves near the town, they prepared for a dance ; to 
which Oglethorpe went with all his people. 

" They made a ring, in the middle of which four 
sat down, having little drums, made of kettles, 
covered with deer skins, upon which they beat, 
and sung. Round these the others danced, being 
naked to their waists, and having round their mid- 
dle many trinkets tied with skins ; and some had 
the tails of beasts hanging down behind them. 
They had painted their faces and bodies ; and their 
hair was stuck with feathers. In one hand they 

* See " History of the Rise, Progress, and Present State of the 
Colony of Georgia," in Harris's Collection of Voyages and Travels, 
Vol. II. p. 330, 2d ed. Lond. 1764. The best history, up to the 
date of publication, extant. 



148 INDIAN DANCE. 

had a rattle, in the other the feathers of an eagle 
made up like the caduceus of Mercury ; they shook 
there plumes and the rattle, and danced round the 
ring with high bounds and antic postures, looking 
much like the figures of the Satyrs. 

" They showed great activity, and kept just time 
in their motions ; and at certain times answered, 
by way of chorus, to those that sat in the middle 
of the ring. They stopt ; and then one of the 
chief warriors stood out, who sang what wars he 
had been in, and described by motions as well as 
by words, which way he had vanquished the ene- 
mies of his country. When he had done, all the 
rest gave a shout of approbation, as knowing what 
^ he said to be true." ^ 

The Indian Mico then explained the object of 
their embassy in a long speech. After this, an alli- 
ance was concluded, and presents exchanged ; which 
consisted, on the part of the Indians, of dressed 
skins ; and, on that of Oglethorpe, of guns, red 
and blue cloth, powder, bullets, knives, and small 
whetstones ; and, among the women he distributed 
linen and woolen garments, ear-rings, chains, beads, 
&c. 

This business being despatched, the General call- 

' Moore. 



EXPEDITION TO ST. JOHN'S. 149 

ed the freemen together, and communicated to 
them the contents of the letters which he had re- 
ceived from the Governor of St. Augustine ; and 
this he did to prevent the ill impression that vague 
conjecture and idle reports might occasion, and 
then, in compliance with the requisition of the 
Governor of St. Augustine that hostile intrusion on 
the Spanish settlements might be prevented, he 
immediately fitted oat a periagua and the marine 
boat, with men and provisions for three months ; 
together with arms, ammunition, and tools, to sail 
to the southward, and cruise along the English side 
of the St. John's, in order to detect and prevent 
any lawless persons from sheltering themselves 
there, and thence molesting his Catholic Majesty's 
subjects, and to restrain the Indians. 

This expedition was conducted by Captain 
Hermsdorff, who was to leave Major Richard and 
Mr. Horton his attendant, at some place on the 
Florida shore, whence they could proceed to St. 
Augustine to wait on the Governor with the des- 
patches. The purport of these was to acquaint 
him, that, " being greatly desirous to remove all 
occasions of uneasiness upon the frequent com- 
plaints by his Excellency of hostile incursions up- 
on the Spanish dominions, armed boats had been 
sent to patrol the opposite borders of the river, 



150 UCHEE INDIANS. 

and prevent all passing over by Indians or marau- 
ders. The gentlemen were also directed to render 
him the thanks of General Oglethorpe for his civil- 
ities, and to express his inclination for maintaining 
a good harmony between the subjects of both 
crowns." ^ 

On the 22d of May, 1736, a respectable deputa- 
tion of the Uchee Indians, from the neighborhood 
of Ebenezer, waited upon the General at St. Si- 
mons. They had painted themselves with various 
colors, and were dressed in their richest costume. 
Being introduced to him in the large apartment of 
the magazine store, the Indian King made a long 
speech ; after which an alliance was entered into, 
and pledge presents interchanged." This treaty was 
a very important one, because the Uchees claimed 
the country above Augusta to the border of the 
Creeks, and a portion below adjoining the Yama- 
craws ; because they were an independent tribe, 
having no alliance with the others ; and because 
they had been a little dissatisfied with the Saltz- 
burgers at Ebenezer. 

On the first of June intelligence was received 
that Major Richard and Mr. Horton, instead of 

' Mooke's Voyage, p. 79. 

* Urlspurgek, I. 844, and Appendix No. XIX. 



MAJOR RICHARD'S RECEPTION. 151 

being received as commissioned delegates, had been 
arrested and made prisoners at St. Augustine. Not 
explaining to the satisfaction of the Governor and 
his Council the situation of the forts and the design 
of the military force that was stationed in them, 
they were detained in custody, till Don Ignatio 
Rosso, Lieutenant Colonel of the garrison, with a 
detachment of men had made personal investiga- 
tions ; who, after an absence of five days, returned 
and reported that the islands were all fortified, and 
appeared to be filled with men ; and that the shores 
were protected by armed boats. A council of war 
was then held, and it was resolved to send back 
Major Richard and Mr. Horton, and their suit, and 
with them an embassy, consisting of Charles Demp- 
sey, Esq., Don Pedro Lamberto, Captain of the 
Horse, and Don Manuel D'Arcy, Adjutant of the 
garrison, with intimations that this formidable array 
was unnecessary. By private information, however, 
Oglethorpe was led to infer that, notwithstanding 
the fair professions that had been made by the 
Spaniards, there were evidently measures concerted 
to increase their forces, to procure' guns and ammu- 
nition, and to arm the Florida Indians.* 

In consequence of these and other indications 
that the Spaniards were commencing preparations 

* Moore's Voyage, p. 79. 



152 OGLETHORPE GOES TO SAVANNAH. 

for dislodging the English settlers, the General took 
all possible precautionary nieasures for repelling 
them. The fort and works on St. Shuons were 
completed in the best manner, and a battery was 
erected on the east point of the island, which pro- 
jects into the ocean. This commanded the en- 
trance of Jekyl sound in such manner that all 
ships that come in at this north entry must pass 
within shot of the point, the channel lying directly 
under it. 

St. Andrew's fort, on Cumberland Island, with 
its munition of ordnance and garrison of well-dis- 
ciplined soldiers, was much relied upon as a mean 
of defence ; and even the outpost at St. George's^ 
on the north side and near the mouth of St. John's 
river, was deemed of no inconsiderable importance 
as a check, at least, upon any attempted invasion 
by the Spaniards, and as serving to prevent their 
going through the inner passages. 

In the month of July the General visited Savan- 
nah, to attend to affairs there, and to hold a con- 
ference with a Committee of the General Assem- 
bly of South Carolina respecting the Indian trade, 
which they charged him with aiming to monopo- 
lize, to the disallowance of their traders. 

It may be necessary here to state, that, as the 
boundaries of Georgia separated the Indians on the 



OF THE INDIAN TRADE. 153 

west side of the Savannah river from the confines 
of South Carolina, they must be admitted as in 
affinity with the new Colony. At any rate, Ogle- 
thorpe deemed it so expedient to obtain their con- 
sent to the settlement of his people, and their good 
will was so essential to a secure and peaceful resi- 
dence, that his earliest care had been to make trea- 
ties of alliance with them. That these treaties 
should include agreements for mutual intercourse 
and trade, seemed to be, not only a prudential, but 
an indispensable provision ; particularly as Tomo 
Chichi and the Micos of the Creeks, who went 
with him to England, had requested that some 
stipulations might be made relative to the quantity, 
quality, and prices of goods, and to the accuracy of 
weights and measures, in what was offered for the 
purchase of their buffalo hides, and deer-skin^ and 
peltry.* Whereupon the Trustees proposed certain 
regulations of trade, designed to prevent in future 
those impositions of which the Indians complained. 
To carry these into effect, it was thought right that 
none should be permitted to trade with the Indians 
but such as had a license, and would agree to con- 
duct the traffic upon fair and equitable principles. 
The Carolina traders, not being disposed to apply 
for a permit, nor to subject themselves to such 

' McCall, Vol. I. p. 46. 
20 



154 SOUTH CAROLINA COMMITTEE. 

Stipulations and restrictions, were disallowed by the 
Georgia Commissary, who held a trading house 
among the Creeks.^ This was resented by them, 
and their complaints to the Provincial Assembly led 
to the appointment of the Committee just referred 
to, and whose conference with Oglethorpe was held 
at Savannah on the 2d of August, 1736.^ In their 
printed report they lay down these fundamental 
principles. " The Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw, 
and Catawba Indians, at the time of the discovery 
of this part of America, were the inhabitants of the 

' Capt. Frederick McKat, in a letter to Thomas Broughton, 
Esq., Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina, dated July 12, 1735, 
written to justify his conduct as Indian Commissary, in turning out 
four traders who would not conform to the rules stipulated in the 
licenses, has the following remarks on the difficulties which he had 
to encounter : " It was impracticable to get the traders to observe 
their instructions, while some did undersell the others ; some used 
light, others heavy weights ; some bribed the Indians to lay out 
their skins with them, others told the Indians that their neighboring 
traders had heavy weights, and stole their skins from them, but that 
they themselves had light weights, and that their goods were 
better." 

' Report of the Committee appointed to examine into the proceedings 
of the people of Georgia, with respect to the Province of South Carolina, 
and the disputes subsisting between the two Colonies. 4to. Charles- 
town, 1736, p. 121. 

This tract was printed by Lewis Timothy. There was no 
printer in Carolina before 1730, and this appears to have been one 
of the earliest productions of the Charlestown press, in the form 
of a book. Rich's Bibliotheca Americana Nova, p. 53. 



INDIAN RIGHTS. 155 

lands which they now possess, and have ever since 
been deemed and esteemed the friends and allies of 
his Majesty's English subjects in this part of the 
Continent. They have been treated with as alHes, 
but not as subjects of the crown of Great Britain ; 
they have maintained their own possessions, and 
preserved their independency ; nor does it appear 
that they have by conquest lost, nor by cession, 
compact, or otherwise, yielded up or parted with, 
those rights to which, by the laws of nature and 
nations, they were and are entitled." 

" The Committee cannot conceive that a charter 
from the crown of Great Britain can give the grant- 
ees a right or power over a people, who, to our 
knowledge, have never owned any allegiance, or 
acknowledged the sovereignty of the crown of Great 
Britain, or any Prince in Europe ; but have indis- 
criminately visited and traded with the French, 
Spaniards, and English, as they judged it most for 
their advantage ; and it is as difficult to understand 
how the laws of Great Britain, or of any Colony in 
America, can take place, or be put in execution in 
a country where the people never accepted of, nor 
submitted to, such laws ; but have always main- 
tained their freedom, and have adhered to their 
own customs and manners without variation or 
change." 



156 REPLICATION OF OGLETHORPE. 

• 

Hence the Committee inferred that the Regula- 
tions which were passed by the Trustees, could 
not be binding upon the Indians, nor serve to effect 
any exclusive trade with them. Oglethorpe ac- 
knowledged this independency of the Indians ; and 
asserted that, in perfect consistency with it, they 
had entered into a treaty of alliance with the Colony 
of Georgia ; and, having themselves indicated cer- 
tain terms and principles of traffic, these were 
adopted and enjoined by the Trustees ; and this 
was done, not to claim authority over the Indians, 
nor to control their conduct, but to indicate what 
was required of those who should go among them 
as traders. 

In answer to the allegations that the Carolina 
traders had been excluded, he declared that, in 
granting licenses to trade with the Indians, he re- 
fused none of the Carolina traders who conformed 
to the Act, and gave them the same instructions as 
had been given by the Province of Carolina.^ He 

' " To protect the natives against insults, and establish a fair trade 
and friendly intercourse with them, were regulations which human- 
ity required, and sound policy dictated. But the rapacious spirit of 
individuals could be curbed by no authority. Many advantages 
were taken of the ignorance of Indians in the way of traffic." Ram- 
say's History of South Carolina, Vol. I. p. 48. For other particulars 
stated by hira, respecting the trade with the Indians, see p. 89, 104. 



OF CAROLINA TRADERS. 157 

also declared that he had given, and should always 
continue to give, such instructions to the Georgia 
traders, as had formerly been given by the Province 
of South Carolina to theirs ; and in case any new 
instructions given by the Province of South Caro- 
lina to their traders shall be imparted, and appear 
to him for the benefit of the two Provinces, he 
would add them to the instructions of the Georgia 
traders ; and, finally, that, pursuant to the desire 
of the Committee, he would give directions to all 
his officers and traders among the Indians, in their 
talk and discourses to make no distinction between 
the two Provinces, but to speak in the name and 
behalf of his Majesty's subjects.^ 

It seems, however, that the Committee were not 
satisfied ; primarily because licenses were requir- 
ed, and especially that they must come through the 
hands of the Governor of Georgia. 

In a few days after this conference Oglethorpe 
returned to Frederica. On the latter part of Sep- 
tember he renewed the commission of the Honora- 
ble Charles Dempsey, impowering him to state to 
the Governor of St. Augustine terms for a conven- 
tional adjustment of the misunderstanding between 
the two Provinces. This he eventually effected, 

' Report of the Committee, &c., p. 106, 107. 



158 DEMPSEY'S TREATY. 

and a treaty was concluded on the 27th of Octo- 
ber following, much more conciliatory, on the part 
of the Spaniards, than he had expected. This, 
however, proved ineffectual, and the pleasing anti- 
cipations of restored harmony which it seemed to 
authorize, were shortly frustrated by a message 
from the Governor of St. Augustine to acquaint 
him that a Spanish Minister had arrived from Cuba, 
charged with a communication which he desired an 
opportunity of delivering in person. At a confer- 
ence which ensued, the Commissioner perempto- 
rily required that Oglethorpe and his people should 
immediately evacuate all the territory to the south- 
ward of St. Helena's Sound, as that belonged to 
the King of Spain, who was determined to vindi- 
cate his right to it. He refused to listen to any ar- 
gument in support of the English claim, or to ad- 
mit the validity of the treaty which had lately been 
signed, declaring that it had erred in the conces- 
sions which had been made. He then unceremo- 
niously departed, with a repetition of his demand, 
accompanied with menaces. 

Perceiving that the most vigorous measures, and 
a stronger defensive force than the Province could 
supply, would be necessary to overawe the hostile 
purposes displayed by Spain, or repel them if put 
in execution, Oglethorpe resolved to represent the 



OGLETHORPE GOES TO ENGLAND. I59 

state of affairs to the British Ministers, and straight- 
way embarking, set sail for England.' He ar- 
rived at the close of the jear ; and, presenting 
himself before the Board of Trustees, " received an 
unanimous vote of thanks, as he had made this 
second, as vs^ell as his first expedition to Georgia, 
entirely at his own expense." ^ 

^ Hewatt, II. 47, and Graham, III. 200, totidem verbis. 
^ London Magazine, October, 1757, p. 545. 



i 



CHAPTER X. 

Delegation of the Missionaries — John Wesley stationed at Savan- 
nah — Has a conference with Tomo Chichi — His Preaching 
deemed personal in its applications — He becomes unpopular — 
Meets with persecution — Leaves the Province and returns to 
England — Charles Wesley attends Oglethorpe to Frederica — 
Finds himself unpleasantly situated — Furnished with despatches 
for the Trustees, he sets out for Charlestown, and thence takes 
passage for England — By stress of weather the Vessel driven 
off its course — Puts in at Boston, New England — His reception 
there — Sails thence for England — After a perilous voyage ar- 
rives — Benjamin Ingham also at Frederica — Goes to Savannah 
to apprize John Wesley of the sickness of his brother — Resides 
among the Creeks in order to learn their language — Returns to 
England — Charles Delamotte at Savannah — Keeps a School 

— Is much respected — George Whitefield comes to Savannah 

— His reception — Visits Tomo Chichi, who was sick — Minis- 
terial labors — Visits the Saltzburgers — Pleased with their pro- 
vision for Orphan Children — Visits Frederica and the adjacent 
Settlements — Returns to England — Makes a second voyage to 
Georgia, and takes efficient measures for the erection of an Orphan 
House. 

In order to show circumstantially the progress of 
colonization, by following Oglethorpe with his new 



JOHN WESLEY. 161 

and large accession of emigrants and military forces 
to their destined places of settlement on the borders 
of the Alatamaha and the southern islands, all men- 
tion of the reception and treatment of the Wesleys, 
whom he had brought over as religious missionaries, 
has been deferred. The relation is introduced now, 
as a kind of episode. 

The delegation of these pious evangelists was 
encouraged by flattering suggestions, and acceded 
to with the most raised expectations ; and its ob- 
jects were pursued by them with untiring zeal and 
unsparing self-devotedness, through continual hin- 
drances. The opposition which they met was en- 
countered with " all long-suffering and patience ; " 
but their best efforts were unavailing ; " and their 
mission closed, too speedily, in saddened disap- 
pointment. 

1. John Wesley, though stationed at Savannah, 
did not consider himself so much a Minister to the 
inhabitants as a missionary to the Indians. When- 
ever he mentioned his uneasiness at being obstructed 
in his main design, he was answered " You cannot 
leave Savannah without a Minister." To this he 
rejoined, " My plain answer is, I know not that I 
am under any obligations to the contrary. I never 
promised to stay here one month. I openly de- 
clared, both before, and ever since my coming 

21 



162 JOHN WESLEY. 

hither, that I neither would nor could take charge 
of the English any longer than till I could go among 
the Indians." It was rejoined, " But did not the 
Trustees of Georgia appoint you to be Minister at 
Savannah ? " He replied, " They did ; but it was 
done without either my desire or knowledge. There- 
fore I cannot conceive that that appointment could 
lay me under any obligation of continuing here 
longer than till a door is opened to the Heathen ; 
and this 1 expressly declared at the time I consented 
to accept that appointment." ^ 

Oglethorpe had been so impressed with what he 
had seen of the natives, that he had written home 
that " a door seemed opened for the conversion of 
the Indians." These favorable expectations were 
greatly increased by the visit to England of Tomo 
.Chichi and his train. They seemed to be fully 
authorized by the declarations which were made 
by them to the Archbishop of Canterbury, and 
other clergy ; and they appeared to be put in a 
train of accomplishment by the interest taken for 
facilitating that purpose by the manual of instruc- 
tion for the Indians which was preparing by Bishop 
Wilson. But when Tomo Chichi came to welcome 

' Life of Rev. John Wesley, A. M., in which is included the Life 
of his Brother Charles Wesley, A. M. By Rev. Henry Moore. 
Lond. 1824, 2 vols. 8vo. Vol. I. p. 310, 



JOHN WESLEY. Ig3 

the Governor on his arrival, and was introduced to 
the intended teacher, it appeared that unforeseen 
obstacles had arisen. " I am ^lad you are come," 
said the Mico, addressing him through the female 
interpreter. " When I was in England I desired 
that some would speak the great word to me ; and 
our people then desired to hear it; but now we are 
all in confusion. The French on one side, and the 
Spanish on the other, and the Traders in the midst, 
have caused us much perplexity ; and made our 
people unwilling. Their ears are shut. Their 
tongues are divided, and some say one thing, and 
some another. But 1 will call together our chiefs, 
and speak to the wise men of our nation, and I 
hope they will hear. But we would not be made 
Christians as the Spaniards make Christians. We 
would be taught ; and then, when we understand 
all clearly, be baptized." ^ There was good sense 
in this remark. They would be informed. of the 
evidences of the truth of Christianity, and have its 
principles and doctrines explained to them, and its 
precepts, tendency, and design illustrated ; and 
hence be enabled to adopt it from conviction. This 
they would do, when they were made to understand 

*■ Account of the Settlement of the Saltzburg Emigrants at 
Ebenezer, in Georgia. By Philip George Frederic von Reck. Ham- 
burgh, 1777. 12mo, p. 7. 



164 JOHN WESLEY. 

how it was a divine revelation, and saw its effects 
in the life of its professors. But the reply of Wes- 
ley was not simple enough to be comprehended by 
him. It was this ; " There is but one, — He that 
sitteth in the heaven, — who is able to teach man 
wisdom. Though we are come so far, we know 
not whether He will please to teach you by us, or 
no. If He teaches you, you will learn wisdom ; 
but we can do nothing." All the inference which 
the poor Indian could draw from this was, that he 
who had come as a religious teacher disclaimed his 
own abilities, and referred to a divine Instructer, of 
whom the Mico could know nothing as yet, by 
whom alone the converting knowledge was to be 
communicated. 

Moreover, he had been an observer of the dispo- 
sition and conduct of those who called themselves 
Christians ; and, at another interview with Wesley, 
when urged to listen to the doctrines of Christian- 
ity, and become a convert, he keenly replied, " Why 
these are Christians at Savannah ! Those are Chris- 
tians at Frederica ! " Nor was it without good 
reason that he exclaimed, " Christians drunk! 
Christians beat men ! Christians tell lies ! Me 
no Christian." 

Scenawki, however, had more courtesy. She 
presented the Missionaries with two large jars of 



JOHN WESLEY. 165 

honey, and one of milk ; and invited them to come 
up to Yamacraw, and teach the children, saying, 
the honey represented the inclination of the people 
there, and the milk the need of their children. 
What a beautiful illustration of the mode of teach- 
ing practised by the Apostle ! "I have fed you 
with milk, and not with meat ; " adapting the 
instruction to the capacity of those to whom it 
was imparted, and "as they were able to receive 
it," could properly digest it, " and be nourished 
thereby." 

Other conferences effected little ; and as Mrs. 
Musgrove did not reside at Yamacraw, and could 
not often assist him as an interpreter; and, per- 
haps, could not readily make perspicuous in the 
Indian dialect what was somewhat more mystical 
than even his English hearers could comprehend, 
his cherished purposes for the conversion of the In- 
dians seemed to be thwarted. Besides, the condi- 
tion of the people at Savannah was such as to re- 
quire clerical services, and he gave himself wholly 
to them. 

For some time his labors as a preacher promised 
to be successful ; " and all would have been well," 
says Southey, " could he but have remembered the 
advice of Dr. Burton." This was contained in a 
letter addressed to him a few days before embark- 



166 JOHN WESLEY. 

ing for Georgia. Among other things, this excel- 
lent friend suggested to him that, under the influ- 
ence of Mr. Oglethorpe, giving weight to his en- 
deavors, much may be effected in the present 
undertaking ; and goes on to remark ; " With re- 
gard to your behavior and manner of address, these 
must be determined according to the different cir- 
cumstances of persons, &c. ; but you will always, 
in the use of means, consider the great end ; and, 
therefore, your applications will of course vary. 
You will keep in view the pattern of the Gospel 
preacher, St. Paul, who ' became all things to all 
men, that he might save some.' Here is a nice 
trial of christian prudence. Accordingly, in every 
case you will distinguish between what is indispen- 
sable, and what is variable ; between what is di- 
vine, and what is of human authority. I mention 
this, because men are apt to deceive themselves in 
such cases ; and we see the traditions and ordi- 
nances of men frequently insisted on with more 
rigor than the commandments of God, to which 
they are subordinate. Singularities of less impor- 
tance, are often espoused with more zeal than the 
weighty matters of God's law. As in all points 
we love ourselves, so, especially, in our hypotheses. 
Where a man has, as it were, a property in a no- 
tion, he is most industrious to improve it, and that 



JOHN WESLEY. 167 

in proportion to the labor of thought he has bestow- 
ed upon it ; and, as its value rises in imagination, 
he is, in proportion, unwilling to give it up, and 
dwells upon it more pertinaciously than upon con- 
siderations of general necessity and use. This is a 
flattering mistake, against which we should guard 
ourselves." 

Unmindful of such counsel, the eagerness of 
Wesley to effect reformation was pressed too pre- 
cipitately and carried too far. His sermons had 
such direct reference, not only to the state of affairs, 
but the conduct of individuals, that they were shrunk 
from as personal allusions. His zeal was excessive, 
and his practice exclusive.^ 

* Mr. SouTHET has this remark — "He was accused of making 
his sermons so many satires upon particular persons ; and for this 
cause his auditors fell off; for though one might have been very 
well pleased to hear others preached at, no person liked the chance 
of being made the mark himself." — Moreover, "following the 
rubric, in opposition to the practice of the English church, he in- 
sisted upon baptizing children by immersion, and refused to baptize 
them if the parents did not consent to this rude and perilous method. 
Some persons he would not receive as sponsors, because they were 
not communicants; and when one of the most pious men in the 
Colony earnestly desired to be admitted to the communion, he re- 
fused to admit him because he was a Dissenter, unless he would be 
rebaptized. And he would not read the burial service over another 
for the same reason, or one founded on the same principle." Life 
0/ Wesley, hy Robert Southet, New York edition, 1820. Vol. I. 
p. 108. — Instances of personal reference in preaching, and of its 



168 JOHN WESLEY. 

For these and other reasons, and in some re- 
spects most unreasonably, the people at Savannah 
became prejudiced against him, and so disaffected 
that " he perceived that his preaching was not 
likely to be attended with beneficial influence. 
Hence, having in vain sought an accommodation 
with his opponents, without in the least relaxing 
from the enforcement of his principles, and disap- 
pointed in the prime object of his mission, that of 
preaching to the Indians, he resolved to quit the 
Colony, and return to his native land." ^ 

Another circumstance brought the whole scene 
of his trials to a catastrophe. Sophia Hopkins, the 
niece of Mrs. Causton, wife of Thomas Causton, 
Esq., chief magistrate of the place, had been a pu- 
pil to him to learn French, was a professed convert 
to his ministry, and become a member of the Church. 
Her beauty, accomplishments, and manners, were 
fascinating ; and she appears, by some coquettish 
advances, to have won his affections. Delamotte, 
however, doubting the sincerity of her pretensions 
to piety, cautioned his friend Wesley against cher- 
ishing a fond attachment. The Moravian Elders, 

alienating effects, are mentioned by Mr. Stevens, in his Journal, 
Vol. I. pp. 15, 19, and elsewhere. 

' Memoir of the Rev. John Wesley, prefixed to a volume of his 
Sermons, by Samuel Drevp, page xvi. 



JOHN WESLEY. 169 

also, advised him not to think of a matrimonial 
connection. In consequence of this, his conduct 
towards her became reserved and distant ; very 
naturally, to her mortification ; though her ow^n 
affections had been preen gaged, for she soon after 
married a Mr. Williamson. But a hostile feeling 
had been excited against him by her friends, for 
the manifestation of vt^hich an opportunity was af- 
forded about five months after her marriage. Wes- 
ley having discovered in her conduct several things 
which he thought blameworthy, with his wonted 
ingenuousness, frankly mentioned them to her ; 
intimating that they were not becoming a partici- 
pant of the Lord's Supper. She, in return, became 
angry. For reasons, therefore, which he stated to 
her in a letter, he cautioned her not to come to 
the ordinance till she could do it in a reconciled 
temper. 

The storm now broke forth upon him. A com- 
plaint was entered to the magistrates ; an indict- 
ment filed, and a warrant issued, by which he was 
brought before the Recorder, on the charges of Mr. 
Williamson, — 1st, That he had defamed his wife ; 
and, 2ldly, That he had causelessly repelled her 
from the Holy Communion. Wesley denied the 
first charge ; and the second, being wholly eccle- 
siastical, he would not acknowledge the authority 

22 



170 CHARLES WESLEY. 

of the magistrate to decide upon it. He was, how- 
ever, told that he must appear before the next 
court, to be holden at Savannah, August term, 
1737. In the mean time pains were taken by Mr. 
Causton to pack and influence the jury. There 
were debates and rude management in the court. 
No pleas of defence were admitted. The evidence 
was discordant. Twelve of the grand jurors drew 
up a protest against the proceedings. The magis- 
trates, themselves, after repeated adjournments, 
could come to no decision ; and justice was not 
likely to be awarded. Wearied with this litigious 
prosecution, Wesley applied to his own case the 
direction given by our Lord to his Apostles, " If 
they persecute thee in one place, flee unto another ;" 
and, shaking off the dust of his feet as a witness 
against them, he fled to Charlestown, South Caro- 
lina ; whence, on Thursday, the 22d of December, 
1737, he embarked for England. After a pleasant 
passage, he landed at Deal, February, 1738, as he 
remarks, " on the anniversary festival in Georgia, 
for Mr. Oglethorpe's landing there." As he enter- 
ed the channel, on his return, Mr. Whitefield sailed 
through it, on a mission ; not to be his coadjutor, 
as he expected, but, as it proved, his successor. 

II. The situation of Charles Wesley was an- 
noyed by like discomfitures, and followed by still 



CHARLES WESLEY. 171 

greater disappointment. He had received the most 
flattering accounts of Georgia from the conversa- 
tion of Oglethorpe, with whom he had been for 
some time acquainted ; and from the little book 
which this gentleman had published. Implicitly 
confiding in the high wrought descriptions which 
had been given him, and indulging anticipations of 
a colonization of more than Utopian excellence, he 
attended his brother to Georgia, and attached him- 
self to Oglethorpe, whose warm professions had 
won him to his service both as Secretary and Chap- 
lain. 

His destination was to the new setdement at 
Frederica ; and there he arrived, with his patron, 
on the 9th of March, 1736. The first person who 
saluted him, as he stept on shore, was Ingham, his 
intimate, confidential, and highly valued friend ; 
who had preceded him thither. The meeting was 
truly pleasant ; but what he learned from him of 
the state of affairs there, and of " the treatment 
which he had met for vindicating the sanctity of 
the Lord's day," was a saddening indication of the 
reverse which his cherished anticipations were soon 
to meet. He was apprised by it, however, of the 
necessity of taking measures for procuring a more 
sober observance of the Sabbath in future. Ac- 
cordingly, as he had been announced to the settlers 



172 CHARLES WESLEY. 

as their religious instructer and guide, he spent the 
remainder of the week in visits to their families, 
and in seeking that personal acquaintance with 
them, without which, he well knew that general 
instruction would be of little use ; but, he observes, 
" with what trembling should I call this flock 
mine ! " In the evening he read prayers, in the 
open' air; at which Oglethorpe was present. He 
observed that the lesson seemed remarkably adapt- 
ed to his situation, and that he felt the power of it; 
particularly of the passage, " continue instant in 
prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving ; 
withal praying also for us, that God would open a 
door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, 
that I may make it manifest as I ought to speak." ' 
In the public discharge of his duties as a clergy- 
man, he was solemn and fervent ; and his preach- 
ing evinced " how forcible are right words." But 
in his daily intercourse with this heterogeneous 
population, he was not always aware that clerical 
intimacy should never descend to familiarity. He 
overheard rude speeches and gossipping tattle ; and 
was made acquainted with some domestic bicker- 
ings and feuds ; and kindly, though not always dis- 
cretely, endeavored to check them ; but his media- 

' Colossians, IV. 3 



CHARLES WESLEY. 173 

tion was repelled as uncalled-for interference.^ To 
use the words of his biographer, " he attempted 
the doubly difficult task of reforming the gross im- 
proprieties, and reconciling some of the petty 
jealousies and quarrels with each other ; in which 
he effected little else than making them unite in 
opposing him, and caballing to get rid of him in 
any way."^ Hence complaints were made to 
Oglethorpe, who, instead of discountenancing them 
decidedly, and vindicating, or at least upholding 
him whom he had brought over, and placed in an 
office where he ought to have demanded for him a 
treatment of deference and respect, himself listen- 
ed too readily to complaints and invectives, and 
suffered them to prejudice him against the truly 
amiable, ingenuous, and kind-hearted minister. In- 
stead of putting candid constructions on well- 
meant purposes, of cautioning his inexperience, or 
giving friendly advice, he treated him with coldness 
and neglect.^ The only apology for this is that 

' " He that passeth by and meddleth with strife belonging not to 
him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears." Proverbs, XXVI. 
17. He who inconsiderately engages in other men's quarrels, whom 
he lights upon by chance, and in which he is not concerned, will 
assuredly suffer by his interference. 

* Southey's Life of the Wesleys, Vol. L p. 107. 

^ In the life of Wesley by Moore, is an affecting detail of partic- 
ulars, taken from the unpublished Journal of Charles Wesley, Vol. 
I. p. 265-285. 



174 CHARLES WESLEY. 

suggested by Southey.^ " The Governor, who had 
causes enough to disquiet him, arising from the pre- 
carious state of the Colony, was teased and soured 
by the complaints which were perpetually brought 
against the two brothers, and soon began to wish 
that he had brought with him men of more prac- 
ticable tempers." In some hours of calmer reflec- 
tion, however, he felt the compunctious visitings of 
conscience, and convinced of the injustice which 
he had done to Mr. Wesley, " in the most solemn 
manner he professed to him his regret for his un- 
kind usage ; and, to express his sincerity, embraced 
and kissed him with the most cordial affection." 
Realizing, however, that the situation of this ag- 
grieved and disheartened man was such that his 
usefulness here was at an end, and finding it neces- 
sary to make a special communication to the Trus- 
tees, relative to the internal distractions among the 
first settlers ; to the Board of Trade on the subject 
of exports and commercial relations ; and to the 
Government, respecting the exposed situation of 
the Colony, he commissioned him to carry the des- 
patches. 

On the 26th of July, 1736, he set out for Charles- 
town, to take passage to England ; and, on the 16th 
of August, went on board the London Galley. But 

> Life of Wesley, Vol. L p. 107. 



CHARLES WESLEY. ' 175 

the passengers and sailors soon found that the Cap- 
tain, while on shore, had neglected every thing to 
which he ought to have attended. The vessel was 
too leaky to bear the voyage ; and the Captain 
drinking nothing scarcely but gin, had never troubled 
his head about taking in water ; so that they were 
soon reduced to short allowance, which, in that 
sultry clime and season of the year, was a distres- 
sing predicament. Meeting, too, with violent squalls 
of wind, they were driven off their course. The 
leak became alarming, and their troubles increased 
so fast upon them, that they were obliged to steer 
for Boston in New England ; where they arrived, 
with much difficulty and danger, on the 2d of Sep- 
tember. 

Wesley was soon known at Boston ; and met a 
hospitable reception among the Ministers, both of 
the town and neighborhood. In a letter to his 
brother, he thus describes the attentions that were 
paid to him. " I am wearied with this hospitable 
people ; they so teaze me with their civilities. They 
do not suffer me to be alone. The clergy, who 
come from the country on a visit, drag me with 
them when they return.^ I am constrained to take 
a view of this New England, more pleasant even 

' Referring to the weekly assembling of the Clergy from the 
neighboring towns to attend the Thursday Lecture. 



176 CHARLES WESLEY. 

than the Old. And, compared with the region in 
which I last resided, I cannot help exclaiming, O 
happy country that breeds neither flies, nor croco- 
diles, nor prevaricators ! " * 

The repairs of the vessel detained him here till 
the 15th of October, when they sailed. They had 
a most perilous passage, and encountered violent 
storms ; but on the third of December arrived oppo- 
site Deal ; and the passengers went safe on shore. 

III. Ingham had his station assigned him at 
Frederica ; and there his prudence preserved him 
from the vexations with which his cherished com- 

^ Having found that letters to his brother were intercepted and 
read, before they were delivered, he wrote sometimes in Latin, and 
even passages in Greek. This, dated Boston, October 5th, 1736, 
was in Latin, and I give the extract here, of which the text is a 
translation. " Tsedet me populi hujusce, ita me urbanitate sua 
divexant et persequuntur. Non patiuntur me esse solum, E rure 
veniunt Clerici ; me revertentes in rure trahunt. Cogor hunc Angli- 
cum contemplari, etiam antiqua amcEniorem ; et nequeo non excla- 
mare, fortinata regio, nee muscas alens, nee crocodilos, nee dela- 
tores!" [When Mr. C. Wesley was at Frederica, the sand-flies 
were one night so exceedingly troublesome, that he was obliged to 
rise at one o'clock, and smoke them out of his hut. He tells us 
that the whole town was employed in the same way. By crocodile 
he means the species called alligator. When at Savannah, he and 
Mr. Delamotte used to bathe in the river between four and five 
o'clock in the morning, before the alligators were stirring, but they 
heard them snoring all round them. One morning Mr. Delamotte 
was in great danger; an alligator rose just behind him, and pur- 
sued him to the land, whither he escaped with difficulty.] 



BENJAMIN INGHAM. 177 

panion was annoyed. In behalf of that persecuted 
and dispirited friend, he went to Savannah, to in- 
form John Wesley of the opposition of the people 
to his brother. He tarried there to supply John's 
place during his absence on the visit of sympathy 
and counsel, of mediation or rescue. Returning to 
Frederica, he remained there till the 13th of May, 
when he accompanied Charles to Savannah, whither 
he went to receive the Indian traders on their com- 
ing down to take out their licenses. He accom- 
panied them to the upper Creeks ; among whom he 
resided several months, and employed himself in 
making a vocabulary of their language, and com- 
posing a grammar.^ 

On the 24th of February, 1737, it was agreed 
that he should go to England, and " endeavor to 
bring over, if it should please God, some of their 
friends to strengthen their hands in his work." ^ By 
him John Wesley wrote to Oglethorpe, who had 
sailed for England, and to Dr. Brady's associates, 
who had sent a library to Savannah. 

Ingham is mentioned by Whitefield, in terms of 
high regard, as fellow-laborer with the Wesleys, 
and " an Israelite indeed." 

^ SouTHET, I. 122, note; mention is also naade of him in Cranz's 
History of the United Brethren, p. 228. 
^ Moore's Lives of the Wesleys, I. 315. 
23 



178 DELAMOTTE AND WHITEFIELD. 

IV. Delamotte remained, from the first, with 
John Wesley at Savannah. He kept a school, in 
which he taught between thirty and forty children 
to read, write, and cast accounts. " Before public 
worship on the afternoon of the Lord's day, he 
catechized the lower class, and endeavored to fix 
some things of what was said by the Minister in 
their understandings as well as their memories. In 
the morning he instructed the larger children." ^ 

He returned to England in the Whitaker, Captain 
Whiting ; the ship that brought out Mr. Whitefield, 
June 2d, 1738. " The good people lamented the 
loss of him, and great reason had they to do sa; 
and went to the waterside to take a last farewell." 

V. George Whitefield was the intimate friend 
of the Wesleys and of Ingham ; and he states, in 
his Journal, that when they were in Georgia he 
received letters from them ; and that their descrip- 
tion of the moral condition of the Colony affected 
his heart powerfully, and excited a strong desire to 
join them, to assist them in the work in which they 
were occupied, and become " a partaker with them 
in the afflictions of the gospel." Such an under- 
taking was suited to his energetic and enterprizing 
character ; and therefore engaged much of his at- 
tention. 

' Here is a prototype of the modern Sunday-schools. 



GEORGE WHITEFIELD. 179 

On the return of Charles Wesley to England, he 
learned more of the situation of the Colonists, and 
of their great need of religious instruction ; and 
when Ingham came with special reference to pro- 
curing assistance, he expressed his readiness to go 
on the mission. In the letter which he received by 
him from John Wesley Avas this direct reference, 
" Only Delamotte is with me, till God shall stir up 
the heart of some of his servants, who, putting their 
lives in his hands, shall come over and help us, where 
the harvest is so great and the laborers are so few. 
What if thou art the man, Mr. Whitefield ? Do 
you ask me what you shall have ? Food to eat and 
raiment to put on ; a house to lay your head in, 
such as your Lord had not ; and a crown of glory 
that fadeth not away ! " This, and another letter, 
strengthened the desire, which soon ripened into a 
purpose, for which all circumstances seemed favor- 
able. Charles, too, became more explicit^ and 
rather urged his going.^ 

' He addressed a poem to him in which are these verses : 
" Servant of God ! the summons hear. 
Thy Master calls ! arise ! obey! 
The tokens of his will appear, 

His providence points out the way. 

Champion of God ! thy Lord proclaim, 
' Jesus alone resolve to know. 

Tread down thy foes in Jesus' name, 
And conquering and to conquer go !" 



180 GEORGE WHITEFIELD. 

He accordingly went up to London to tender his 
services to Oglethorpe and the Trustees; by whom 
he was accepted ; and he left London on the latter 
part of December, 1737, in the 23d year of his 
age, to take passage in the Whitaker, Captain 
Whiting, master, on a voyage to Georgia. It was, 
however, the end of January before the vessel was 
fairly on its way, in consequence of contrary winds. 
They sailed from the Downs a few hours only before 
the vessel, which brought Wesley back, cast anchor 
there. He was attended on his passage by the 
Honorable James Habersham and his brother. They 
landed, after rather a circuitous and long passage, 
on the 7th of May, 1738. Delamotte, whom Wes- 
ley had left schoolmaster at Savannah, received him 
at the Parsonage house, which he found much better 
than he expected. Having met with some of his 
predecessor's converts there, he read prayers on the 
morrow, and expounded, in the Court-house, and 
waited on the magistrates ; but, being taken ill of 
a fever and ague, he was confined to the house for 
a week. 

Being informed that Tomo Chichi was sick, nigh 
unto death, as soon as he could venture abroad he 
made him a visit. The Mico lay on a blanket, thin 
and meagre. Scenawki, his wife, sat by, fanning 
him with feathers. There was none who could 



GEORGE WHITEFIELD. 181 

speak English, so that Mr. Whitefield could only 
shake hands with him and leave him. A few days 
after he went again, and finding Toonahowi there, 
who could speak English, " I desired him," says 
Whitefield, " to ask his uncle whether he thought 
he should die ; " who answered, " I cannot tell." I 
then asked, where he thought he should go, after 
death ? He replied " To heaven." But alas ! a 
further questioning led the solemn visiter to an un- 
favorable opinion of his preparedness for such a 
state of purity. 

When Whitefield had recovered so as to com- 
mence his labors, he remarked that every part bore 
the aspect of an infant colony ; that, besides preach- 
ing twice a day, and four times on the Lord's day, 
he visited from house to house, and was in general 
cordially received, and always respectfully ; " but 
from tiaie to time found that ccBlum non animum 
mutant, qui trans mare currunt. ' Those who cross 
the seas, change their climate, but not their dispo- 
sition.' " Though lowered in their circumstances, 
a sense of what they formerly were in their native 
country remained. It was plainly to be seen that 
coming over was not so much a matter of choice as 
of restraint ; choosing rather to be poor in an un- 
known country abroad, than to live among those 



182 GEORGE WHITEFIELD. 

who knew them in more affluent ch'cumstances at 
home.' 

The state of the children affected him deeply. 
The idea of an Orphan-House in Georgia had been 
suggested to him by Charles Wesley, before he 
himself had any thought of going abroad ; and now 
that he saw the condition of the Colonists, he said, 
" nothing but an orphcin-house can effect the edu- 
cation of the children." From this moment he set 
his heart upon founding one, as soon as he could 
raise funds. In the meantime, he did what he 
could. He opened a school at Highgate and Hamp- 
stead, and one for girls at Savannah. He then 
visited the Saltzburgers' orphan-house at Ebene- 
zer ; and, if any thing was wanting to perfect his 
own design, or to inflame his zeal, he found it 
there. The Saltzburgers themselves Were exiles 
for conscience' sake, and eminent for piety and in- 
dustry. Their ministers, Gronau and Bolzius, were 
truly evangelical. Their asylum, which they had 
been enabled to found by English benevolence for 
widows and orphans, was flourishing. Whitefield 
was so delighted with the order and harmony of 
Ebenezer that he gave a share of his own " Poor's 
store " to Bolzius for his orphans. Then came the 
scene which completed his purpose. Bolzius called 

' Gillies' Memoirs of Whitefield, p. 27. 



GEORGE WHITEFIELD. 183 

all the children before him, and catechized them, 
and exhorted them to give God thanks for his good 
providence towards them. Then prayed with them, 
and made them pray after him. Then sung a 
psalm. Afterwards, says Whitefield " the little 
lambs came and shook me by the hand, one by one, 
and so we parted." From this moment Whitefield 
made his purpose his fate.^ 

As opportunity offered he visited Frederica, and 
the adjacent settlements ; and says that he often 
admired that, considering the circumstances and 
disposition of the first settlers, so much was really 
done. He remarks that " the first settlers were 
chiefly broken and decayed tradesmen from London 
and other parts of England ; and several Scotch 
adventurers, (Highlanders) who had a worthy min- 
ister named Macleod ; a few Moravians, and the 
Saltzburgers, who w^ere by far the most industrious 
of the whole ;" and he adds, that he would cheer- 
fully have remained with them, had he not felt 
obliged to return to England to receive priest's 
orders, and make a beginning towards laying a 
foundation of the orphan-house, which he saw was 
much wanted. 

In August he settled a schoolmaster, leaving Mr. 
Habersham at Savannah ; and, parting affection- 

' Phillips' Life and Times of Whitefield, p. 73. 



184 GEORGE WHITEFIELD. 

atelj with his flock, he went to Charlestown, South 
Carolina, and, on the 9th of September, went aboard 
the Mary, Captain Coe, for England, where he 
arrived in the latter part of November, 1738. 

The Trustees for the Colony received him cor- 
dially ; were pleased to express their satisfaction at 
the accounts which had been sent them of his con- 
duct and services during his stay in the Colony ; 
and having been requested by letters sent, unknown 
to him, from the magistrates and inhabitants, they 
most willingly presented to him the living of Savan- 
nah, (though he insisted upon having no salary), 
and as readily granted him five hundred acres of 
land, whereon to erect an Orphan-House, and make 
a garden and plantations ; to collect money for 
which, together with taking priest's orders, were 
the chief motives of his returning to England so 
soon/ 

Without extending the account of this zealous, 
eloquent, and popular preacher any further, suffice 
it to say that he was greatly successful in the ob- 
ject of his visit, and his appeals to public charity in 
behalf of the Orphan-House ; that he returned to 
Georgia, and on March 11th, 1742, laid the foun- 
dation of that edifice ; and, both in America and in 
England, continued his measures for its establish- 
ment, till he saw it completed. 

' Gillies, p. 32. 



, CHAPTER XI. 

Oglethorpe arrives in England — Trustees petition the King for 
military aid to the new Colony — A regiment granted — Ogle- 
thorpe appointed Commander in Chief of South Carolina and 
Georgia — Part of the regiment sent out — Oglethorpe embarks 
for Georgia the third time — Remainder of the regiment arrive — 
And two companies from Gibraltar — Prospect of war with 
Spain — Military preparations at St. Augustine — Oglethorpe 
makes arrangements for defence — Treason in the Camp — 
Mutiny, and personal assault on the General. 

" At a meeting of the Trustees of Georgia, Wed- 
nesday, January 19th, 1737, Mr. Oglethorpe, newly 
returned hither, had the unanimous thanks of the 
board. He informed them that Savannah had 
greatly increased in building, and that three other 
towns had been founded w^ithin a year ; namely, 
Augusta, Darien, and Frederica; that a new town, 
called Ebenezer, had been laid out for the Saltz- 
burgers ; and that there were several villages set- 
tled by gentlemen at their own expense. He gave 
them the pleasing intelligence that the remoter 

24 



186 OGLETHORPE IN ENGLAND. 

Creek nation acknowledged his Majesty's author- 
ity, and traded with the new settlers ; and that the 
Spanish Governor-General and Council of War of 
Florida had signed a treaty with the Colony."^ 
He added, however, that notwithstanding these 
seeming auspicious circumstances, the people on 
the frontiers were in constant apprehensions of an 
invasion, and that he had strong suspicions that the 
treaty would not be regarded ; that the Spanish 
government at Cuba was wholly opposed to it ; and 
that the indignant demand of the commissioner 
from Havana, and the threat which followed, im- 
plied an infraction, and would lead to consequences 
against which it was necessary to provide. 

Upon this communication some able remarks 
were made in the London Post. They were in- 
troduced by a statement of the benefits, hkely to 
accfue to the English nation from settling the 
colony of Georgia ; and go on to mention that the 
colony was in the most thriving condition in conse- 
quence of royal patronage and parliamentary aid, 
seconded by the generosity of contributors, "whose 
laudable zeal will eternize their names in the Brit- 
ish annals ; and, carried into effect under the con- 
duct of a gentleman, whose judgment, courage, and 

' Extract from the Record of the Trustees, published in the 
Gentleman's Magazine, for 1737, Vol. XIL p. 59. 



GERALDINO'S MEMORIAL. . 187 

indefatigable diligence in the service of his country, 
have shewn him every way equal to so great and 
valuable a design. In the furtherance of this noble 
enterprise, that public spirited and magnanimous 
man has acted like a vigilant and faithful guardian, 
at the expense of his repose, and to the utmost 
hazard of his life. And now, the jealousy of the 
Spanish is excited, and we are told that that court 
has the modesty to demand from England that he 
shall not be any longer employed. If this be the 
fact, as there is no doubt it is, we have a most 
undeniable proof that the Spaniards dread the abili- 
ties of Mr. Oglethorpe. It is, of course, a glorious 
testimony to his merit, and a certificate of his pa- 
triotism, that ought to endear him to every honest 
Briton." ^ 

Reference is here made to the memorial of Don 
Thomas Geraldino, the Spanish ambassador at the 
British Court, in which, among other demands, he 
insisted that no troops should be sent over to Geor- 
gia, and particularly remonstrated against the return 
of Oglethorpe. 

About the same time intelligence reached Eng- 
land that the Spaniards at St. Augustine had order- 
ed the English merchants to depart, and were set- 

' Gentleman^s Magazine, Vol. VII. p. 500. See, also, History 
of the British Provinces, 4to. p. 158. 



188 OGLETHORPE'S NEW REGIMENT. 

ting up barracks for troops that were daily expected ; 
that an embarkation was preparing at Havana, in 
which two thousand five hundred soldiers were to 
be shipped in three large men-of-war, and eight 
transports ; and that great quantities of provisions 
had been laid in for them. Upon this, and other 
hostile indications, of which the Trustees were ap- 
prised, they petitioned his Majesty that a regiment 
might be raised for the defence and protection of 
the Colony. This was granted. Oglethorpe was 
appointed General and Commander-in-Chief of his 
Majesty's forces in Carolina and Georgia ; and 
commissioned to raise a regiment for the service 
and defence of those two Colonies, to consist of six 
companies of one hundred men each, exclusive of 
non-commissioned officers and drums ; to which a 
company of grenadiers was afterwards added. 
" This regiment he raised in a very short time, as 
he disdained to make a market of the service of 
his country, by selling commissions, but got such 
officers appointed as were gentlemen of family and 
character in their respective counties ; and, as he 
was sensible what an advantage it was to the 
troops of any nation to have in every company a 
certain number of such soldiers as had been bred 
up in the character of gentlemen, he engaged about 
twenty young gentlemen of no fortune, to serve as 



RESERVE CORPS. 189 

cadets in his regiment, all of whom he afterwards 
advanced hy degrees to be officers, as vacancies 
happened ; and was so far from taking any money 
for the favor, that to some of them, he gave, upon 
their advancement, what was necessary to pay the 
fees of their commissions, and to provide themselves 
for appearing as officers." ^ 

" He carried with him, also," says a writer of 
that day, " forty supernumeraries, at his own ex- 
pense ; a circumstance very extraordinary in our 
armies, especially in our plantations." 

With a view to create in the troops a personal 
interest in the Colony which they had enlisted to 
defend, and to induce them eventually to become 
actual settlers, every man was allowed to take with 
him a wife ; for the support of whom some addi- 
tional pay and rations, were offered.^ In reference 
to this. Governor Belcher, of Massachusetts, in writ- 
ing to Lord Egmont, respecting the settlement of 
Georgia, has these remarks ; " Plantations labor 
with great difficulties ; and must expect to creep 
before they can go. I see great numbers of people 
who would be welcome in that settlement ; and 
have, therefore, the honor to think, with Mr. Ogle- 

' London Magazine, for 1757, p. 546. 

* Gentleman's Magazine, Vol. VIII. p. 164, 



190 OGLETHORPE RETURNS. 

thorpe, that the soldiers sent thither should all be 
married men." * 

Early in the spring of 1738, some part of the 
regiment, under the command of Lieutenant Colo- 
nel Cochran, embarked for Georgia, and arrived at 
Charlestown, South Carolina, on the 3d of May. 
They immediately proceeded to their destined ren- 
dezvous by land ; as the General had taken care, 
on his former expedition, to have the rout survey- 
ed, and a road laid out and made passable from 
Port Royal to Darien, or rather Frederica itself; 
and there were a sufficient number of boats pro- 
vided for passing the rivers. 

As soon as Oglethorpe obtained the proper stores 
of arms, ammunition, military equipments, and pro- 
visions, he embarked for Georgia, the third time, 
with six hundred men, women, and children, in- 
cluding the complement of the new raised regi- 
ment, on the 5th of Julyj in the Hector and Bland- 
ford, men-of-war ; accompanied by five transports. 
They arrived at St. Simons on the 9th of Septem- 
ber, where their landing at the soldier's fort, was 
announced by a discharge of artillery, and cheered 
by the garrison. The General encamped near the 

* Manuscript Letter Book of Governor Belcher, in the archives 
of the Massachusetts Historical Society. ' - 



ARRIVAL OF THE REGIMENT. 191 

fort, and staid till the 21st, to forward the disem- 
barkation, and give out necessary orders.^ 

He then went to Frederica, and was saluted by 
fifteen pieces of cannon at the fort. The magis- 
trates and townsmen waited on him in a body, to 
congratulate him on his return. 

On the 25th the inhabitants of the town went 
out with the General, and cut a road through the 
woods down to the soldier's-fort, in a strait line ; 
so that there is an open communication between 
them. This work was performed in three days, 
though it is a distance of three miles. 

Several Indians came to greet the General. They 
,hunted in the vicinity, and brought venison every 
day to the camp. They reported that the chiefs 
from every town of the Upper and Lower Creek 
nation would set out to visit him as soon as they 
received notice of his return. ^ 

The arrival of the regiment, so complete and in 
so good order, was a great relief to the people of 
Frederica, as they had been often, during the sum- 
mer, apprehensive of an attack by the Spaniards, 
who had sent large reinforcements of troops to St. 
Augustine, and were understood to be providing a 
formidable embarkation at the Havana, notwith- 

' Letter from Frederica, in Georgia, dated October Sth, 173S, in 
the Gentleman's Magazine, for January, 1739, p. 22. 



192 PREPARATIONS FOR DEFENCE. 

Standing the treaty which had been so lately con- 
cluded with Oglethorpe. Nay, the Floridians had 
actually attacked one of the Creek towns that was 
next to them ; but, though the assault was made 
by surprise, they were repulsed with loss ; and 
then they pretended that it was done by their 
Indians, without their orders. 

Under circumstances of so much jeopardy, the 
people were so often diverted from their daily labor, 
that their culture and husbandry had been greatly 
neglected ; and there was the appearance of such 
a scarcity, that many would be reduced to actual 
want before the next crop could be got in. But, 
in consequence of the measures now taking for 
their security, and of some supplies which were 
brought, in addition to the military stores, and of 
more that would be sent for, the anxiety was 
removed, and they resumed their labors. 

" The utmost care was taken by the General, 
that in all the frontier places the fortifications should 
be put in the best state of defence; and he dis- 
tributed the forces in the properest manner for the 
protection and defence of the Colony; assigning 
different corps for different services ; some station- 
ary at their respective forts ; some on the alert, for 
ranging the woods ; others, light-armed, for sudden 
expeditions. He likewise provided vessels, and 



TREACHERY IN THE CAMP. 193 

boats for scouring the sea-coast, and for giving 
intelligence of the approach of any armed vessels. 
He went from one military station to another, su- 
perintending and actually assisting every operation ; 
and endured hardness as a good soldier, by lying in 
tents, though all the officers and soldiers had houses 
and huts where they could iiave fires when they 
desired ; and indeed they often had need, for the 
weather was severe. In all which services, it was 
declared that he gave at the same time his orders 
and his example ; there being nothing which he 
did not, that he directed others to do ; so that, if 
he was the first man in the Colony, his preemi- 
nence was founded upon old Homer's maxims, 
' He was the most fatigued, the first in danger, 
distinguished by his cares and his labors, and not 
by any exterior marks of grandeur, more easily dis- 
pensed with, since they were certainly useless.' " ^ 

But there was treachery lurking in the camp, 
which, though for some time suspected, had b6en 
so vigilantly watched and guarded against, that the 
conspirators found no opportunity for carrying into 
effect their insidious purpose. 

It seems that among the troops lately sent over, 
there was one soldier who had been in the Spanish 

' Harris's Voyages, II. p. 332. 
25 



194 AFFRAY AT ST. ANDREWS. 

service, and two others who were Roman Catholics 
and disclaimed allegiance to the British Govern- 
ment, who had enlisted as spies, and been bribed 
to excite a mutiny in the corps, or persuade those 
among whom they were stationed to desert the ser- 
vice.^ 

Their attempts, however, to gain over accom- 
plices, were unavailing ; for those with whom they 
tampered had the fealty to reject their overtures, 
and the honesty to make a discovery of their in- 
sidious machinations. Upon this the traitors were 
seized, convicted, and, on the beginning of Octo- 
ber, 1738, sentenced to be whipt and drummed out 
of the regiment.^ 

Hardly had this secret plot been defeated, when 
an affray took place at Fort St. Andrews, in which 
an attempt was made to assassinate the General, 
who was there on a visit. 

Some of the soldiers who came from Gibraltar 
had been granted six months provisions from the 
King's stores, in addition to their pay. When 
these rations were expended, about the middle of 
November, one of the murmurers had the presump- 
tion to go up to the General, who was standing at 

' Gentleman'' s Magazine, Vol. IX. 739, p. 22. 
^ Appendix, No. XX. 



ATTEMPT AT ASSASSINATION. 195 

the door with Captain Mackay, and demanded of 
him a continuance of the supply. To this uncer- 
emonious and disrespectful requisition the General 
replied, that the terms of their enlistment had been 
complied with ; that their pay was going on ; that 
they had no special favor to expect, and certainly 
were not in the way to obtain any by such a rude 
manner of application. As the fellow became out- 
rageously insolent, the Captain drew his sword, 
which the desperado snatched out of his hand, 
broke in two pieces, threw the hilt at him, and 
made off for the barrack, where, taking his gun, 
which was loaded, and crying out " One and all ! " 
five others, with their guns, rushed out, and, at the 
distance of about ten yards, the ringleader shot at 
the General. The ball whizzed above his shoulder, 
and the powder burnt his face and scorched his 
clothes. Another flashed his piece twice, but the 
gun did not go off. The General and Captain were 
immediately surrounded by protectors ; and the 
culprits were apprehended, tried at a Court-Mar- 
tial, and, on the first week in October, received 
sentence of death. The letter which gives a cir- 
cumstantial account of this affair, written from 
Frederica, and dated December 26th, adds, " Some 
of the officers are not very easy, and perhaps will 
not be till the mutineers are punished, in terrorem ; 



196 MUTINEERS PUNISHED. 

which has been delayed by the General's forbear- 
ance." ^ I quote, with pleasure, this testimony \o 
his lenity, given by one who must have intimately 
known all the aggravating circumstances, because 
some accounts state that he took summary ven- 
geance. 

By the defeat of insidious plottings to induce the 
desertion of the frontier garrison, and the suppres- 
sion of the insurgent mutiny, the spirit of insubor- 
dination was entirely quelled ; and the people of 
the Colony were relieved from their apprehensions 
of an attack from the Spaniards, " as they had 
Oglethorpe among them, in whom they and the In- 
dians had great confidence." 

' Gentleman's Magazine, Vol. IX. p. 215. 



CHAPTER XII. 

Oglethorpe visits Savannah — Troubles there — Causton, the store* 
keeper, displaced — Oglethorpe holds a conference with a deputa- 
tion of Indians — Town-meeting called, and endeavors used to 
quiet discontents — Goes back to Frederica, but obliged to renew 
his visit to Savannah. 

On the 8th of October, 1738, Oglethorpe set out 
from Frederica in an open boat, with two others 
attending it ; and, after rowing two days and two 
nights, arrived at Savannah. " He was received, 
at the water-side, by the magistrates, and saluted 
by the cannon from the fort, and by the militia 
under arms ; and the people spent the night in re- 
joicing, making bonfires,"^ &c. But, notwithstand- 
ing this show of public joy, he had soon to learn 
particulars of the situation of the inhabitants, that 
rendered his visit unpleasant to himself, and not 
very welcome to some of those to whom it was 

' Letter, dated Savannah, in Georgia, October 22, 1738 ; publish- 
ed in the Gentleman's Magazine, for January, 1739, p. 22. 



198 OGLETHORPE AT SAVANNAH. 

made. Those who were duly sensible of his dis- 
interested devotedness to the advancement and 
welfare of the settlement, were actuated, on this 
occasion, by a principle of real regard and grati- 
tude ; those who were apprehensive that their con- 
duct in his absence might be investigated and dis- 
approved, joined in the acclaim, that they might 
conciliate his favor ; and those who had been dis- 
contented grumblers, did not care openly to exhibit 
indications of dissatisfaction. 

On the day after his arrival he received informa- 
tion that the grand jury of Savannah had prepared 
a representation, " stating their grievances, hard- 
ships, and necessities," and complaining of the con- 
duct of Mr. Thomas Causton, the first magistrate 
of the town, and keeper of the public store. ^ They 
alleged that he had expended much larger sums 
than the Trustees authorized, and thus brought the 
Colony in debt ; that he had assumed powers not 
delegated to him, and had been partial and arbi- 
trary in many of the measures which he had pur- 
sued.^ 

Upon an investigation of these allegations, Ogle- 

* This is inserted in the Narrative of the Colony of Georgia, 
by P. Tailfer, M. D., Hugh Williamson, M. A., and D. Douglas. 
Charlestown, S. C, 1741. It was signed September 12th, 1737. 

* Letterlast quoted, and Stephens's Journal, Vol. I. p. 305. 



MR. CAUSTON DISPLACED. 199 

thorpe, as Governor- General of the Colony, deemed 
it expedient to displace him ; to issue an order that 
the books, papers, and accounts, belonging to the 
stores, should be delivered to Thomas Jones, Esq., 
veho had come over M'ith the transports with the 
appointment of Advocate of the Regiment ; and 
that security should be given by Causton, to an- 
swer the charges against him, by an assignment of 
his estate at Oakstead, and his improvements else- 
where. The office thus rendered vacant was sup- 
plied by the appointment of Colonel William Ste- 
phens, who had been sent over with the commission 
of Secretary for the affairs of the Trustees in the 
Province.^ 

\ This worthy gentleman wrote a Journal, which commences on 
his arrival at Charlestown, in the Mary-Ann, Captain Shuhrick, 
October 20, 1737, and comes down to October 28, 1741. It gives a 
minute account of every thing which occurred ; and bears through- 
out the marks of correctness, of ingenuousness, and frankness in 
the narrative of transactions and events ; and of integrity, strict 
justice, and unflinching fidelity in the discharge of his very respon- 
sible office. As exhibiting " the form and pressure of the times," it 
is of essential importance to the Historian of Georgia ; and, happily, 
it was printed, making three octavo volumes. But the work is 
exceedingly rare, especially the third volume. A complete set is 
among the Ebeling books in Harvard College Library. 

He had been at Savannah before, for in p. 46, is this remark ; 
"All which was evident to myself, as well from what I observed, 
when here formerly^ as more especially now, since my arrival." And 
again, p. 54, mentioning Mr. Fallowfield, "a constable, whose tem- 



200 EMBASSY OF INDIANS. 

The great mismanagement of the trust-funds 
which had been sent for the support of the Colony, 
rendered it also necessary to retrench the ordinary 
issues, " that something might remain for the ne- 
cessary support of life among the industrious part 
of the community, who were not to be blamed." 

On the 11th, Tomo Chichi came to wait upon 
the General. He had been very ill; but the good 
old man was so rejoiced at the return of his re- 
spected friend, that he said it made him moult like 
the eagle. ^ He informed him that several Indian 
chiefs were at Yamacraw to pay their respects to 
him, and to assure him of their fidelity. 

This embassy consisted of the Micos or chiefs of 
the Ocmulgees, the Chehaws, the Ouchasees, and 
the Parachacholas, with thirty of their warriors, and 
fifty-two attendants. As they walked up the hill, 
they were saluted by a battery of cannon, and then 
conducted to the town-hall by a corps of militia, 
where the General received them. They told him 
that the Spaniards had decoyed them to St. Augus- 
tine, on pretence that he was there ; but they 

per I was better acquainted with, having lodged at his house during 
my former abode her-e." 

After the departure of General Oglethorpe, he was President of 
the Council, and acting Governor from July 11, 1743, to April 8, 
1757, when he was succeeded by Henry Parker, Esq. 

1 Appendix, No. XXI. 



OGLETHORPE'S STATEMENT. 201 

found that they were imposed upon, and therefore 
turned back with displeasure, though they were 
offered great presents to induce them to fall out 
with the English. These single-hearted foresters 
had now come to remove from the mind of their 
pledged friend all apprehension of their alienation, 
and to assure him that their warriors shall attend 
his call. They closed their conference with a 
pressing invitation to him to come up to their towns 
in the course of the summer ; and, with his promise 
to do so, they took a respectful leave. 

On the 17th the General called the inhabitants 
to assemble at the town-hall, and " there made a 
pathetic speech to them ; " ^ which he began by 
thanking them for the measures which they had 
pursued for mutual help and the common good. 
He apprized them of the great exertions made by 
the Trustees to support, protect, and defend the 
Colony ; but that their being obliged to maintain 
the garrisons, and lay in various stores till the ar- 
rival of the troops, and the dear price of provisions 
the last year, occasioned such an increased demand 
upon them, that they would not be able to continue 
further allowance, nor assume further responsibili- 
ties, unless a supply should be granted by parlia- 



' Stephens's Journal, I. p. 305. 
26 



202 PUBLIC EMBARRASSMENTS. 

ment. This state of embarrassment he greatly 
regretted, inasmuch as those whom he addressed 
were suffering by the failure of their crops. He 
told them that, with surprise and great grief, he 
found that there was more due from the public 
store than there were goods and articles in it to 
pay ; but that he had given orders that all persons 
should be paid as far as these effects would go. 
He said that he was fully aware of the privations 
already felt, and of the greater to which they were 
exposed ; and, therefore, informed those who, on 
this accountj or for any reason, supposed that they 
could better their condition by going out of the 
Province, that they had his full consent to do so. 
At the same time he requested such to come to his 
quarters, and acquaint him with their grievances, 
their wishes, and their purposes, and he would 
give them his best advice, and all the aid in his 
power. How many, or how far any, availed them- 
selves of this overture, is not known ; but the 
writer who has given an account of this address, 
adds, " It is remarkable that not one man chose to 
leave the Province, though they very well knew 
that they must endure great hardships before the 
next crop should come in, for there was very little 
money stirring, and very few had provisions suffi- 
cient to keep them till next year. However, 



RETRENCHMENTS. 203 

they all seemed resolved rather to stay, than to 
leave the country now in its distress." ' 

To lessen the demands upon the Trustees, Ogle- 
thorpe made retrenchments in the public expendi- 
tures. He disbanded the troop of Rangers, who 
guarded the country on the land side, though they 
offered to serve v^^ithout pay ; but he deemed it 
improper that they should be on service without 
remuneration. The garrisons were relieved by the 
regiments ; so that that expense ceased. He aim- 
ed to reconcile the disaffected, by his good offices ; 
and to gain their affections by unexpected and un- 
merited liberalities. With very timely largesses 
he assisted the orphans, the widows, and the sick ; 
and contributed towards the relief of the most des- 
titute ; but, adds the writer of the letter above 
quoted, " we are apprehensive such contributions 
cannot last long, unless assisted from England, for 
the expenses are too great for any single man to 
bear." 

The General pursued, with anxious scrutiny, his 
investigation into the management of business, and 
found the charges and accounts to be very perplex- 
ed, and the result evincing mismanagement and 
unfaithfulness. " He settled the officers, civil and 
mihtary, among whom changes had taken place ; 

' Letter from Savannah, October 22, 1738. 



204 OGLETHORPE LEAVES FOR FREDERICA. 

filled vacancies ; and took the most judicious mea- 
sures that the whole municipal establishment should 
be properly organized. Then, calling them all to 
his lodgings, he gave it in charge that they should 
do their duties with care and vigilance. He ex- 
horted them to use their best endeavors to preserve 
peace ; especially at this time, when ill-disposed 
persons, taking advantage of people's uneasiness at 
those inevitable pressures under which they labor- 
ed, and must necessarily for some time be sub- 
jected to, might craftily incite them to insurrection. 
Withal, he recommended earnestly to them to pre- 
serve unanimity among themselves, which would 
strengthen and support a due authority, and restrain 
the licentious into due obedience." * 

On Wednesday morning, October 25th, Ogle- 
thorpe set out for the south, leaving, as Col. Ste- 
phens remarks, " a gloomy prospect of what might 
ensue ; and many sorrowful countenances were 
visible under the apprehensions of future want ; 
which deplorable state the Colony has fallen into, 
through such means as few or none of the settlers 
had any imagination of, till the Trustees, in their 
late letters, awakened them out of their dream ; 
and the General, when he came, laid the whole 

' Stephens's Journal, L 309. 



MR. CAUSTON'S CONDUCT. 205 

open, and apprized them that thej were but little 
removed from a downright bankruptcy. Now was 
a time when it would be fully apparent, who were 
the most valuable among them, by showing a 
hearty endeavor to contribute, what in them lay, to 
appease the rising discontents, and wait with pa- 
tience to see better things, which were not yet to 
be despaired of." ' 

It appears that Mr. Causton discovered not only 
reluctance and perversity in explaining and authen- 
ticating his accounts ; but, by disingenuous insinu- 
ations reflected on the conduct of Oglethorpe, " as 
if he very well knew that extraordinary occasions 
had created these great exceedings, which the 
Trustees approving of, he [Causton] was given up 
to be driven to utter ruin." ^ Mr. Jones deemed 
it necessary to write to the General to inform him 
of the reflections which had thus been cast upon 
his honor, and of the impediments which he him- 
self met in the business assigned to him. Upon 
the receipt of this letter, Oglethorpe set out on a 
return to Savannah, where he arrived early in the 
morning of Saturday, November 11th, and, as the 
bell was ringing for attendance on prayers, he went 
and joined the orisons of the congregation. This 

' Stephens's Journal, I. 312. 2 ibid, p. 325. 



206 OGLETHORPE AGAIN AT SAVANNAH. 

was more grateful to his feelings than the military 
salute and parade of the preceding visit ; and the 
devotional exercises in which he engaged soothed 
his vexed spirit, and the petition for pardon of of- 
fences against God produced a liveher disposition 
in his heart of lenity and forgiveness towards those 
who had offended against him. In the course of 
the day, he looked again into the concerns of the 
store, and despatched some other affairs of conse- 
quence. In the eveping he sent for Mr. Causton, 
when, " in a very mild manner, and gentler terms 
than could be expected, upon such a provocation, 
he reprehended him for the freedom he had taken 
with his name, and advised him to use no delays 
or shifts in making up his accounts." 

On Sunday he attended public worship ; and 
after that took boat, and went back to the south. 

In both these visits to Savannah, Oglethorpe dis- 
covered among the inhabitants indications of the 
prevalence of not only a dissatisfied, but of a fac- 
tious spirit ; more to be lamented than a failing 
harvest, or a stinted market. 

It was extremely mortifying to him to perceive 
that his greatest exertions and most assiduous ser- 
vices were underrated ; his devotedness to their 
welfare unacknowledged ; and his sacrifices and 
exposures that he might establish them in security 



STATE OF DISAFFECTION. 207 

and peace, were not merely depreciated, but mis- 
called and dishonored. While he was zealously 
engaged in strengthening the Colony, by locating 
large accessions of brave and industrious settlers on 
the frontiers, and erecting forts, and supplying them 
with troops and ammunition, the people who were 
" sitting under their own vines and fig-trees, with 
none to molest or make them afraid," and who had 
been best and longest provided for, were insensible 
to the hardships and dangers to which others were 
exposed ; and, cavilling at the circumstances in 
which they were placed, complained as if he must 
be personally accountable for certain restrictions in 
the plan of settlement, and subsequent financial 
and commercial affairs, to which the Trustees had 
deemed it proper to subject them ; restrictions 
which might have been submitted to by them with 
as good a grace as they were by the Saltzburgers 
at Ebenezer and the Scots at Darien, " who mur- 
mured not, neither were unthankful." In fact, it 
was very apparent, that by their indolence and im- 
providence these dissatisfied ones had brought upon 
themselves the chief of the evils which they suf- 
fered. Their allegations, therefore, were unrea- 
sonable, and the disposition which dictated them 
criminally ungrateful. But Oglethorpe, instead of 
reproaching the discontented for their ingratitude, 



208 MAGNANIMITY OF OGLETHORPE. 

and the murmurers for their unkind imputations, 
stifled his own justifiable feelings of displeasure, 
in the hope that such forbearance would refute the 
injustice of theirs. Well might the poet exclaim : 

" What magnanimity ! — May ne'er again 

Unkind returns thy generous ardor chill, ^ 

Nor causeless censure give thy bosom pain, 
Nor thankless hearts reward thy good with ill ! 

But honoring gratitude its column raise, 
To bear inscriptions of deserved praise ; 
And when through age the record is obscure, 
A nobler let posterity procure." 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Oglethorpe goes to Charlestown, South Carolina, to open his Com- 
mission — Comes back to Savannah — Gives encouragement to 
the Planters — Returns to Frederica — Excursion to Coweta — 
Forms a Treaty vpith the Upper Creeks — Receives at Augusta a 
delegation of the Chickasaws and Cherokees, who complain of 
having been poisoned by the Traders — On his return to Savan- 
nah is informed of Spanish aggressions, and is authorized to make 
reprisals. 

As Oglethorpe was appointed General and Com- 
mander in Chief of the military forces in South 
Carolina, as well as Georgia, he deemed it proper 
to pay a visit to Charlestown, in order to have this 
assigned rank duly notified to the Governor and 
people of the Province. He, therefore, set out for 
that metropolis on the 10th of March, 1739 ; arrived 
on the 15th, and, on the 3d of April, had his com- 
mission opened and read in the Assembly. In refer- 
ence to the exercise of the authority which it con- 
ferred, some regulations in the military establishment 
were adopted. On the 11th he returned to Sa- 
vannah. 

27 



210 INDIAN EXPEDITION. 

To encourage the industry of the planters, he 
proposed to those who would persevere in doing 
what they could in the culture of their lands, " a 
bounty of two shillings per bushel for all Indian 
corn, and one shilling per bushel for all potatoes, 
which they should raise over and above what the 
produce could be sold for after the next harvest." ^ 

On the 18th he went to Frederica ; but was 
obliged, in the summer, to renew his visit to Savan- 
nah ; and, on the evening of the 10th of July, was 
received, under a discharge of cannon, by about 
forty of the freeholders under arms, which, he was 
pleased to say, was more than he expected. " His 
stay, being very likely to be short, many succes- 
sively sought audience of him, whose affairs he 
despatched with his usual promptness." 

" On the 17th he set off on his Indian expedition 
to Coweta : he proceeded up the river, in his cut- 
ter, with Lieutenant Dunbar, Ensign Leman, and 
Mr. Eyre, a cadet, besides attendants and servants. 
At the Uchee town, twenty-five miles above Eben- 
ezer, he quitted water-conveyance, having appointed 
several of the Indian traders to wait his coming 
there, with a number of horses, as well for sumpter 
as riding, and also some rangers to assist." 

' Stephens, I. 460. 



JOURNEY TO COWETA. 2tl 

On this journej, computed to be over three hun- 
dred miles, both he and his attendants met with 
many and great hardships and fatigue. They were 
obliged to traverse a continuous wilderness, where 
there was no road, and seldom any visible track ; 
and their Indian guides led them often, unavoid- 
ably, through tangled thickets, and deep and broken 
ravines, and across swamps, or bogs, where the 
horses mired and plunged to the great danger of 
the riders. They had to pass large rivers on rafts, 
and cause the horses to wade and swim ; and to 
ford others. During most of the way their reso- 
lute leader was under the necessity of sleeping in 
the open air, wrapped in his cloak or a blanket, and 
with his portmanteau for a pillow ; or, if the night- 
weather was uncomfortable, or rainy, a covert was 
constructed of cypress boughs, spread over poles. 
For two hundred miles there was not a hut to be 
met with ; nor a human face to be seen, unless by 
accident that of some Indian hunter traversing the 
woods. At length they arrived at Coweta, one of 
the principal towns of the Muscoghe, or Creek 
Indians, where the Chiefs of all the tribes were 
assembled, on the 11th of August. "Thus did 
this worthy man, to protect the settlement, which 
with so much pecuniary expense and devotedness 
of time, he had planted, now expose himself to the 



212 CEREMONY OF ACCORDANCE. 

hazards and toils of a comfortless expedition, that 
would have proved unsurmountable to one of a less 
enterprising spirit and steady resolutions." Ogle- 
thorpe, and his suite, vs^ere received with great cor- 
diality ; and, after the necessary introduction to 
individuals, and a little refreshment and rest, a 
grand convention was formed. The assembly was 
arranged in due order, with the solemn introductory 
ceremonies prescribed for such occasions. A liba- 
tion of the foskey,^ or black-drink, followed ; of 
which Oglethorpe was invited to partake with " the 
beloved men," and of which the chiefs and war- 
riors quaffed more copious draughts. Speeches and 
discussions followed ; terms of intercourse and 
stipulations of trade were agreed upon ; and, after 
smoking the calumet, they unitedly declared that 
they remained firm in their pledged fealty to the 
King of Great Britain, and would adhere to all the 

' This is a decoction of the leaves of the Yatjpon, prinus gldber, 
and is of an exciting, and if taken freely, an intoxicating effect. It 
is prepared with much formality, and is considered as a sacred 
beverage, used only by the Chiefs, the War Captains, and Priests 
(" beloved men ") on special occasions, particularly on going to war 
and making treaties. For an account of its preparation and use, 
see Lawson's Carolina, p. 90 ; Bernard Roman's Natural History 
of Florida, p. 94- Adair's History of the American Indians, p. 108; 
Catesby's Natural History of Carolina, II. 57 ; and Barton's Ele- 
ments of Botany, part 11. p. 16. 



TREATY FORMED. 213 

engagements of amity and commerce heretofore 
entered into with Oglethorpe as the representative 
of the Trustees. They then renewed the former 
grants, in terms more explicit and full, confirming 
the session of territory on the sea-coast, with the 
islands, and now extending the southern boundary 
to the river Matteo, or St. John's. And Oglethorpe, 
on his part, covenanted that the English should not 
encroach upon, nor take up, other lands, nor in- 
trude upon any reserved privileges of the Creeks ; 
but would cause their rights to be respected, and 
the trade with them to be conducted upon fair and 
honorable principles. This important treaty was 
concluded on the 21st of August, 1739. 

Oglethorpe ingratiated himself highly with the 
Creeks on this occasion, by his having undertaken 
so long and difficult a Journey to become acquainted 
with them, and secure their favor ; trusting himself 
with so few attendants in a fearless reliance on 
their good faith ; by the readiness with which he 
accommodated himself to their mode of living ; and 
the magnanimity of his deportment while among 
them. 

The chief business being finished to mutual satis- 
faction, the General, with his attendants, set out on 
their return ; and, after enduring the hke hardships^ 
exposures, and fatigue, arrived, on the 5th of Sep- 



214 CHICKASAWS AND CREEKS. 

tember, at Fort Augusta, an outpost on the Savan- 
nah, where he had placed a garrison on his first 
expedition to Georgia ; and under the protection of 
which, a httle settlement was now formed, inhabited 
mostly by Indian traders. There he was waited on 
by the chiefs of the Chickasaws, and the chiefs of 
the Cherokees ; ' the last of whom came with a 
heavy complaint that his people had been poisoned 
by the rum which had been brought to them by the 
traders. At this they expressed high resentment, 
and even threatened revenge. As this was an affair 
of quite an alarming nature, the General made strict 
inquiry into it ; and ascertained that some unlicensed 
traders had, the preceding summer, carried up the 
small pox, which is fatal to the Indians ; and that 
several of their warriors, as well as others, had 
fallen victims to the distemper. It was with some 
difficulty that he convinced the Indians that this 
was the real cause of the calamity. At the same 
time he assured them that such were the precautions 
and strict examination used, before any applicant 
for leave to trade could obtain it, that they need 

' By some early writers of Carolina these chiefs are called " Ca- 
ciques." Whether this be the same as Mico, I know not; but the 
title, though often used so, does not seem to be appropriate. Where 
justly applied, it is the title of the legislative chief, in distinction 
from the war chief. 



AN EXPRESS FROM SAVANNAH. 215 

not apprehend any danger from such as came to 
them with a license. With this explanation and 
assm-ance they went away satisfied. 

On the 13th of September, while yet at this 
place, an express arrived from Savannah to acquaint 
him that a sloop from Rhode Island had brought the 
intelligence, that the Governor of that Colony had, 
by orders from Great Britain, issued commissions 
for fitting out privateers against the Spaniards. This 
was not a little surprising to him. He could not 
conceive how a distant Colony should have any 
such orders, before they were sent to him who was 
most in danger of being attacked, in case of any 
rupture with Spain. However, he deemed it expe- 
dient to hasten his return, in order to obtain more 
direct information. On the 22d he reached Savan- 
nah, where he received and published his Majesty's 
orders for reprisals. In consequence of these, a 
stout privateer of fourteen guns, was immediately 
fitted out by Captain Davies, who had suffered by 
having had a ship and cargo, to the value of forty 
thousand pieces of eight, captured and most un- 
justly condemned by the Spaniards ; and, there- 
fore, felt that he had a right to avail himself of the 
present opportunity for obtaining redress.^ 

' London Magazine, for 1757, page 592. 



216 SPANISH GUARDA-COSTAS. 

For several years, the British trade to America, 
particularly that to the West Indies, had suffered 
great interruption and annoyance from the Spanish 
guarda-costas, which, under various pretences, seized 
the merchant ships, and carried them into their ports, 
w^here they vv^ere confiscated. This piratical prac- 
tice had increased to such a degree that scarcely 
any vessels were safe in those seas; for the Spaniards 
pretended that wherever they found logwood, cocoa, 
or pieces of eight on board, the capture was legal. 
Now, the first tWo of those commodities were the 
growth and produce of the English islands, and the 
last was the current specie of all that part of the 
world ; so that there was hardly a ship homeward 
bound but had one or other of these on board. 

These depredations were also aggravated by cir- 
cumstances of great inhumanity and cruelty ; the 
sailors being confined in loathsome prisons, at the 
Havana, and at Cadiz ; or forced to work with 
irons on their legs ; with no sustenance but salt 
fish, almost putrid, and beds full of vermin, so that 
many died of their hard captivity.' 

The increasing complaints of the merchants, and 
the loud clamors of the nation, at length forced the 

' History of the Colonies planted by the English on the Continent 
of North America, hj J OKT^ MA^snAh-L. 8vo. Philadelphia, 1824. 
Chap. X. 



WAR AGAINST SPAIN. 217 

British minister to abandon his pacific sjstem ; and 
war was declared against Spain on the 23d of Oc- 
tober, 1739. A squadron, commanded by Admiral 
Vernon was detached for the West Indies, with 
instructions to act upon the defensive ; and Gen- 
eral Oglethorpe was ordered to annoy the settle- 
ments in Florida.^ 

It now became necessary for Oglethorpe to take 
the most prompt and effective measures for the pro- 
tection of the Colony ; and, as his settlement had, 
from the beginning, been opposed by the Spaniards 
at St. Augustine, and would now have to encounter 
their resentful assaults, he must put into requisition 
all his military force, and see to their adequate 
equipment. He immediately took measures for rais- 
ing a troop of thirty rangers, to prevent the Spanish 
horse and Indians at St. Augustine from making 
incursions into the Province ; and likewise to inter- 
cept the runaway negroes of Carolina, on their way 
through the country to join the Spaniards. At the 
same time he summoned four hundred Creeks, and 
six hundred Cherokee Indians to march down to 
the southern borders. He then viewed the arms 

' Historical Review of the Transactions of Europe, from the com- 
mencement of the War with Spain, in 1739, to the Insurrection in 
Scotland, in 1745, by Samtjel Botse. 8vo. Dublin, 1748. Vol. 
I. p. 27. 

28 



218 WAR AGAINST SPAIN. 

of the militia, to ascertain that they were all in 
good order, and gave directions that powder, balls, 
and flints, should be issued out of the magazine, 
for supplying each member with a proper quantity. 
But aware that all this would be too inconsiderable 
for effectual resistance, he perceived it to be ex- 
pedient to seek the protection of the West India 
fleet, and to apply to the Assembly of South Caro- 
lina for cooperation in a cause, in the ^vent of 
which their own safety was involved. Accordingly 
he immediately sent up to Charlestown to desire 
assistance, and to consult measures with the com- 
manders of the men of war then on the station, in 
order immediately to block up St. Augustine before 
the Spaniards could receive supplies and reinforce- 
ments from Cuba ; which, if properly executed, 
the place would, in all probability, be soon reduced.^ 
This application was laid before the General As- 
sembly, and, on the 3th of November, a Committee 
was appointed to take the same into consideration. 
Their Report was discussed in both Houses of As- 
sembly ; but no decision was obtained. 

Having taken these preparatory measures, he 
returned to Frederica to make all the arrangements 

^ See his letter in the History of the Rise and Progress of 
Georgia, Harris's Voyages, II, p. 338, dated 21st of September, 
1739. 



SPANISH BARBARITY. 219 

which the exigences of the case required, in the 
equipment of his own forces, and by calling upon 
his Indian allies ; waiting, with impatience, how- 
ever, the result of his application to the sister 
Colony. 

Towards the middle of November a party of 
Spaniards landed in the night time upon Amelia 
island, and skulked in the thicket till morning, 
when two Highlanders, unarmed, went into the 
woods for fuel ; upon whom the Spaniards fired, 
first five and then ten shot ; which was heard by 
Francis Brooks, who commanded the scout-boat 
upon the coast. He immediately made a signal 
to the Fort, which was then garrisoned by a de- 
tachment of General Oglethorpe's regiment. Upon 
this a party instantly went out, but they arrived 
too late, for they found their comrades dead, and 
that the assassins had taken to their boat, and put 
out to sea. The bodies of the soldiers were not 
only rent with shot, but most barbarously mangled 
and hacked. The periodical publication from which 
this account is taken, has the following remarks : ^ 
" Whence it was apparent that the Spaniards had 
first, out of cowardice, shot them, and then, out of 
cruelty, cut and slashed them with their swords. 
If they had not been most scandalous poltroons, 

' Annals of Europe, for 1739, p. 410. 



220 PERPETRATORS PURSUED. 

they would have taken the two unarmed men 
prisoners, without making any noise ; and then 
they might have lurked in the wood till they had 
found an opportunity of getting a better booty, or 
at least of making more prisoners. And, if they 
had not been most barbarously cruel, they would 
have been satisfied with simply killing these unre- 
sisting men, (which might have been without such 
a volley of shot,) and not have so mangled their 
bodies after they were slain. From such cowardly 
and cruel foes no mercy can be expected ; and 
every one sent against them must despair if he 
finds himself in danger of being overpowered, and 
wrought up to desperation and revenge when he 
finds himself any thing near upon an equal footing." 
Upon being informed of this outrage, Oglethorpe 
fitted out and manned a gun boat, and pursued 
them by water and land, above a hundred miles ; 
but they escaped. By way of reprisal, however, 
he passed the St. John's into Florida ; drove in the 
guards of Spanish horse that were posted on that 
river ; and advanced as far as a place called the 
Canallas ; at the same time sending Captain Dun- 
bar with a party to find out the situation and force 
of the fort at Picolata, near the river, upon what 
were then called " the lakes of Florida," eighty 
miles from the mouth of the river. They attacked 



JEOPARDY OF THE GENERAL. 221 

the garrison, but were repulsed, having no artillery. 
They accomplished, however, the intentions of 
Oglethorpe, as they reconnoitred both that place and 
another fort called St. Francis. 

In January he returned to Frederica, where he 
met with Captain Warren,^ who had lately arrived 
with the Squirrel man of war. When their con- 
sultation was concluded, Captain Warren went and 
cruised off the Bay of St. Augustine, while Ogle- 
thorpe, with a detachment of troops on board of 
the boats, and some artillery, went up the Lakes 
of Florida, rowing by day, and sailing by night, so 
that he attacked the two forts Picolata and St. 
Francis, took both the same day, and made the 
soldiers in the garrisons prisoners of war. 

Captain Hugh Mackay, in a letter to Colonel 
Cecil, dated Frederica, 24th of January, 1740, says, 
" The General escaped very narrowly being killed 
by a cannon ball at Fort St. Francis, or, as the 
Spaniards called it, ' San Francisco de Papa.' " 

* Afterwards Sir Peter Warren, an excellent naval officer. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Oglethorpe addresses a letter to Lieutenant-Governor Bull, suggest- 
ing an expedition against St. Augustine — Follows this, by ap- 
plication in person — Promised assistance, and cooperation — 
Returns to Frederica — Collects his forces — Passes over to 
Florida — Takes several Spanish forts — Is joined by the Caro- 
linean troops — The enemy receive supplies — Oglethorpe changes 
the siege into a blockade — Takes possession of Anastasia Island 
— Colonel Palmer and his men surprised and cut to pieces — 
Spanish cruelties — English fleet quit the station — Siege raised, 
and Oglethorpe returns to Frederica. 

Br the information which Oglethorpe was able to 
obtain from the prisoners, which confirmed the ac- 
counts received from other sources, he learned that 
the garrison at St. Augustine was in want of provi- 
sions ; and that, the half-gallejs having been sent 
to the Havana for troops and supplies, the river 
and sea-board were destitute of defence. Such 
being the case, he conceived that a fitting opportu- 
nity now offered for the reduction of the place, 
taking the enemy by surprise, before the reinforce- 



ASSISTANCE OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

ments arrived ; and thereby dispossessing the Span- 
iards of Florida. He, therefore, sent an express to 
Lieutenant-Governor Bull, urging an immediate 
compliance with his application for assistance. The 
consideration was accordingly renewed in the As- 
sembly on the 4th of February. At length Ogle- 
thorpe, impatient of delays occasioned by their con- 
tinued demurring about the feasibility of the project, 
presented himself before them, that they might be 
made acquainted more fully with his intentions, 
and with every thing relative to their being carried 
into execution. After many conferences, a scheme 
of action was agreed upon, and an Act of Assembly 
passed, April 5th, 1740, for the raising of a regi- 
ment of four hundred men, to be commanded by 
Colonel Vanderdussen ; a troop of rangers ;* pre- 
sents for the Indians ; and supply of provisions 
for three months.^ They also furnished a large 
schooner, with ten carriage and sixteen swivel 
guns, in which they put fifty men under the com- 
mand of Captain Tyrrell. 

With this encouragement, and the promise of 
cooperation by Commodore Vincent Price, who 

' As the Rangers could not be procured, the Assembly afterwards 
voted an addition of two hundred men. 

* The term of service, and, of course, the amount of supply, were 
afterwards extended to four months. 



224 PREPARATIONS FOR THE SIEGE. 

commanded the small fleet on that station, the 
place of rendezvous was appointed at the mouth of 
St. John's river. The General then published his 
manifesto,^ and immediately hastened back to Geor- 
gia to prepare his forces for the expedition. 

On the beginning of April he went to the Uchee 
town to engage runners to his Indian allies to in- 
form them of his intended assault of St. Augustine ; 
to bespeak their assistance, and request their chiefs 
and warriors to join his forces at Frederica, whither 
he immediately repaired. There he completed the 
equipment of his forces ; selected the field-pieces 
and their carriages, balls and powder ; and attend- 
ed to the military accoutrements, stores and pro- 
visions. 

On the 9th of May he passed over to Florida 
with four hundred selected men of his regiment, 
and a considerable party of Indians, headed by 
Molochi, son of Prim the late chief of the Creeks ; 
Raven, war-chief of the Cherokees ; and Toona- 
howi, nephew of Tomo Chichi. On the evening 
of the 10th, part of the Carolina forces arrived. 

As the first thing to be done was to take the 
forts that kept open the communication of the 
Spaniards with the country, and thus cut off their 

> Appendix, No. XXII. 



^ 




\ ^ 
















^^^s. 



; 1 ^^5 jrfr^>^ 














DE PUPA AND DIEGO TAKEN, 225 

supplies, the General, impatient of losing time, in- 
vested the small fort called Francis de Pupa, seven- 
teen miles north of St. Augustine, commanded by 
a sergeant and twelve men, who surrendered with- 
out a contest. Thence he proceeded to Fort Diego, 
situated on the plains, twenty-five miles from St. 
Augustine, defended by eleven guns, and fifty reg- 
ulars, besides Indians and negroes. In his sortie 
upon this, he made use of a little stratagem, as well 
as force ; which was by appointing three or four 
drums to beat, at the same time, in different places 
in the woods, and a few men now and then to 
appear suddenly, and withdraw out of sight again. 
At this, the enemy in the fort were so confounded, 
with the apprehension that they were surrounded 
by a great number of troops, that they made only a 
feint of opposition ; and, being summoned to sur- 
render, did so, on condition of being treated as 
prisoners of war, and, (what they principally in- 
sisted on) not to be delivered into the hands 
of the Indians, from whom they were conscious 
that they had incurred the most condign repri- 
sals for former aggressions.^ The other articles 
were that they should deliver up the guns and 
stores, which consisted of nine swivel and two car- 

' Stephens, IL 3S9. 
29 



226 CAROLINA TROOPS ARRIVE. 

riage guns, with the powder and shot, &c. ; that 
they should have liberty to keep their baggage ; 
that Seignior Diego Spinosa, to whom the fort 
belonged, it having been built at. his expense, and 
on his land, should hold his plantation and slaves, 
and such other eifects as were not already plunder- 
ed in the field ; and, finally, that no deserters or 
runaways from Charlestown should have the benefit 
of this capitulation. Here he left a garrison of 
sixty men, under the command of Lieutenant Dun- 
bar, to secure the retreat of the army, in case of 
accidents, and to preserve a safe communication 
with the settlements in Georgia. He then return- 
ed to the place of rendezvous, where he was joined 
on the 19th of May by Captain M'Intosh, with a 
company of Highlanders, and Colonel Vanderdus- 
sen, with the rest of the Carolina troops, but with- 
out any horse, pioneers, or negroes. 

By this time six Spanish half-galleys, with a 
number of long brass nine pounders, manned with 
two hundred regulars, and attended by two sloops 
loaded with ammunition and provisions, had enter- 
ed the harbor of St. Augustine, so that the forces 
in the town and castle were very nearly equal in 
numbers to the land forces brought against them, 
and their artillery much superior. 

Notwithstanding all the reinforcement which 



PROPOSED ATTACK ON ST. AUGUSTINE. 227 

Oglethorpe had received, it was judged impractica- 
ble to take the place by assault from the land side, 
unless an attack could be made at the same time 
by the boats of the men of war, and other small 
craft, on the sea side, on which the town had no 
intrenchments ; and to begin a regular siege on 
the land side was impossible, as he had neither 
force enough for investing the place, nor any pio- 
neers for breaking the ground, and carrying on the 
approaches. For this reason it was concerted be- 
tween him and the sea commanders, that as soon 
as they arrived off the bar of the north channel, he 
should march up with his whole force, consisting of 
about two thousand men, to St. Augustine, and 
give notice by a signal agreed on, that he was 
ready to begin the attack by land ; which should 
be answered by a counter signal from the fleet of 
their readiness to attack it by sea. Accordingly 
the General marched, and arrived near th^ in- 
trenchments of St. Augustine, June 4th, at liiight, 
having in his way taken Fort Moosa, about three 
miles from St. Augustine, which the garrison had 
abandoned upon his approach. He ordered the 
gates of the fort to be burnt, and three breaches to 
be made in the walls. 

As soon as it was proper to begin the attack, he 
made the signal agreed on, but had no countersign 



THE FLEET DOES NOT COOPERATE. 

from the men of war. This was to his utter sur- 
prise and disappointment. The reason which was 
afterwards assigned, was, that the fleet had ascer- 
tained that their promised cooperation had been 
rendered impracticable ; as the galleys had been 
drawn up abreast in the channel between the cas- 
tle and the island, so that any boats which they 
should send in must have been exposed to the can- 
non and musketry of the galleys, as well as the bat- 
teries of the castle ; and, as no ships of force 
could get in to protect them, they must have been 
defeated, if not wholly destroyed ; and that it was 
impossible to make an attack by sea, while the gal- 
leys were in that position. It being presumptuous 
to make an attack without the aid of the fleet, the 
General was under the necessity of marching back 
to Fort Diego, where he had left all his provisions, 
camp furniture, and tools ; because he had neither 
horses nor carriages for taking them along with 
him by land, nor had then any place for landing 
them near St. Augustine, had he sent them by 
water.^ 

Disappointed in the project of taking the place 
by storm, he changed his plan of operations, and 
resolved, with the assistance of the ships of war, 

' Lmdon Magazine, Vol. XXVII. p. 22. 



PROPOSED BLOCKADE. 229 

which were lying at anchor off the bar, to turn the 
siege into a blockade, and to shut up every chan- 
nel by which provisions could be conveyed to the 
garrison. For this purpose, he stationed Colonel 
Palmer, with his company, at Fort Moosa, to scour 
the woods, and intercept all supplies from the coun- 
try ; and " enjoined it upon him, for greater safety, 
to encamp e\ery night in a different place, and, by 
all means to avoid coming into action." He also 
charged him, if he should perceive any superior 
party sallying forth from St. Augustine, to make a 
quick retreat towards Fort Diego, where it was 
certain the enemy would not follow him, for fear of 
having their retreat cut off by a detachment from 
the army. He sent Colonel Vanderdussen, with 
his regiment, to take possession of Point Quartell, 
at a creek which makes the mouth of the harbor 
opposite Anastasia ; and this he did " because they 
would be safe there, being divided from St. Augus- 
tine, and covered from any sally that would be 
made by the garrison." ^ 

As there was a battery on Anastasia, which de- 
fenjded the entry to St. Augustine, the Commo- 
dore suggested that, if a body of troops should be 

^ History of the British Settlements in North America. Lond. 1773, 
4to, page 163. 



230 LANDING ON ANASTASIA. 

sent to land upon that island, under favor of the 
men of war, and dispossess it, he would then send 
the small vessels into the harbor, which was too 
shallow to admit the ships. Upon this, the Gen- 
eral marched to the coast, and embarked in the 
boats of the men of war, with a party of two hun- 
dred men, and most of the Indians. Captain War- 
ren, with two hundred seamen, attached themselves 
to this expedition. 

Perceiving that the Spaniards were advanta- 
geously posted behind the sand-hills, covered by 
the battery upon the island, and the fire from the 
half-galleys which lay in shoal water where the men 
of war could not come, he ordered the heavy boats 
to remain and seem as though they intended to land 
near them, while he, with Captain Warren and the 
pinnaces, rowed, with all the speed they could, to 
the southward about two miles. The Spaniards 
behind the sand-hills strove to prevent their land- 
ing, but before they could come up in any order, 
the boats had got so near to the shore that the 
General and Captain Warren, with the seamen and 
Indians, leaped into the water breast high, landed, 
and took possession of the sand-hills. The Span- 
iards retreated in the utmost confusion to the bat- 
tery ; but were pursued so vigorously, that they 



BATTERIES ERECTED, 231 

were driven into the water, and took shelter in the 
half-galleys.' 

All hands were now set to work to erect the 
batteries, whence a cannonade was made upon the 
town. This, however, was to little effect ; partly 
from the distance, and partly from the condition of 
some of the field pieces which were employed. 
The enemy returned a brisk fire from the castle 
and from the half-galleys in the harbor. The latter, 
chiefly annoying the camp, it was agreed to attack 
them ; but though Commodore Price had propos- 
ed that measure to Colonel Vanderdussen first, 
he altered his opinion and would not consent 
to it. 

" Thirty-six pieces of cannon, together with 
planks for batteries, and all other necessaries, with 
four hundred pioneers were to have come from Caro- 
lina ; but only twelve pieces of cannon arrived. Of 
course, for want of planks for batteries, they were 
obliged to fire upon the ground, the consequence of 
which was, that their carriages were soon broken, 
and could not be repaired." ^ 

The Spaniards, on the other hand, had surprised 
and cut to pieces the detachment under Colonel 
Palmer. Of this disastrous event, the particulars 

' London Magazine, Vol. XXVII. p. 22. 

* History of British Settlements in North America, p. 165. 



COLONEL PALMER AT MOOSJi. 

are given bj one who could saj, — " Quos ego 
miserrimus vidi, et quorum pars magna fui." [Which 
I had the misfortune to see, and greatly to share.] 
I refer to a letter from Ensign Hugh Mackaj to his 
brother in Scotland, dated at Fort St. Andrews, 
on Cumberland Island, August 10th, 1740. 

After some introductory remarks, he gives the 
following account of the action : 

" On the 9th of June the General sent out a 
flying party of militia, Indians, and thirteen sol- 
diers, in all making one hundred and thirty-seven 
men, under the command of Colonel Palmer, a 
Carolina gentleman, an old Indian warrior, of great 
personal resolution, but little conduct. Under him 
I commanded the party, and had orders to march 
from St. Diego, the head-quarters, to Moosa, three 
miles from St. Augustine, a small fort which the 
Spaniards had held, but was demolished a few days 
before ; there to show ourselves to the Spaniards, and 
thereafter to keep moving from one place to another 
to divert their attention, while the General took 
another route, and intended to come to Moosa in 
five days. The orders were just, and might with 
safety be executed, had a regular officer command- 
ed ; but poor Colonel Palmer, whose misfortune it 
was to have a very mean opinion of his enemies, 
would by no means be prevailed upon to leave the 



FATE OF COLONEL PALMER. 233 

old fort, but staid there, thinking the Spaniards 
durst not attack him. He was mistaken, as will 
appear presently. 

" Upon the 15th day of June, about four in the 
morning, we were attacked by a detachment of 
five hundred, from the garrison of St. Augustine, 
composed of Spaniards, negroes, and Indians, be- 
sides a party of horse to line the paths, that none 
of us might escape. Apprehending that this would 
happen, I obtained leave of Colonel Palmer, and 
therefore ordered our drum to beat to arms at three 
o'clock every morning, and to have our men in 
readiness till it was clear day. Thus it was upon 
the fatal l5th of June, as I have said, when the 
Spaniards attacked us with a very smart fire from 
their small arms ; in which Colonel Palmer fell the 
first. We returned the fire with the greatest brisk- 
ness that can be imagined ; and so the firing con- 
tinued for some time ; but, unluckily, we were 
penned up in a demolished fort; there was no room 
to extend. The Spaniards endeavored to get in 
at the ruinous gate ; and our party defended the 
same with the utmost bravery. Here was a terri- 
ble slaughter on both sides ; but the Spaniards, 
who were five times our number, got at last, by 
dint of strength, the better ; which, when I saw, 
and that some prisoners were made, I ordered as ^ 

30 



234 SAD CATASTROPHE. 

many of my party then as were alive to draw off. 
We had great difficulty to get clear, for the Span- 
iards smTOunded the fort on all sides. However, 
by the assistance of God, we got our way made 
good ; drew up in sight of the enemy, and retired, 
without being pursued, till we were in safety. I 
had no more than twenty-five men, and some of 
them very ill wounded, of which number I was, for 
I received three wounds at the fort gate, but they 
were slight ones. Several of the poor Highlanders, 
who were in the engagement, and fought like lions, 
lost their lives, — some of them your acquaintance. 

" I commanded, next Colonel Palmer, as captain 
of the horse, on the militia establishment. My 
lieutenant was killed. My cornet and quarter- 
master were made prisoners of war, with four more 
of the Highlanders. Charles Mackay, nephew to 
Captain Hugh Mackay, who was ensign of militia, 
received five wounds in the action, and lost one of 
his fingers ; and, thereafter, rather than fall into the 
hands of the Spaniards, ventured to swim an inlet 
of the sea, about a mile broad, and had the good 
fortune to get to the side he intended, and so to 
the General's camp. 

" As the Indians fled several different ways, no 
more account is yet heard of them, only that some 
of them were killed in the action, and others wound- 



ESCAPE OF THE CREEKS. 235 

ed and taken prisoners. I believe there were sixty 
killed, and twenty taken prisoners of our whole 
party. To some of our Creek Indians who were 
taken by the enemy, leave was given (to curry 
favor with their nation) to return home. They 
told me that we killed a great number of the Span- 
iards at Moosa, and that they were dying by fives 
and sixes a day after getting into the town ; so 
miserably were they cut by our broad swords ; yet 
by their great numbers they got the day ; but were 
sadly mauled, otherwise they would have pursued 
me." 

The fate of Colonel Palmer was the more affect- 
ing, from the consideration that he had raised one 
hundred and fifty good men, who had come with 
him as volunteers ; that he was in a fort in which 
a breach had been made, and of course was no 
adequate protection ; and that he was beyond the 
reach of any assistance. It has, indeed, been said 
that he was not enough mindful of the directions 
that had been given him, and presumptuously 
exposed himself to danger.^ 

Mr. Stephens remarks that " the most bloody 
part of all fell to the unhappy share of our good 
people of Darien, who, almost to a man en- 
gaged, under the command of their leader, John 

> Appendix, No. XXIII. 



236 OF THE INDIAN NICHOLAUSA. 

Moore Mcintosh ; a worthy man, careful director 
among his people at home, and who now showed 
himself as valiant in the field of battle ; where, 
calling on his countrymen and soldiers to follow his 
example, they made such havoc with their broad- 
swords, as the Spaniards cannot easily forget." ^ 
This brave champion was taken prisoner, and suf- 
fered severe and cruel treatment.^ 

The principal commander of the Spaniards fell 
at tlie first onset. 

The Spanish took several prisoners ; basely in- 
sulted the bodies of the dead ; and would have 
inflicted vengeful cruelties on their captives, one 
of whom was an Indian named Nicholausa, whom 
they delivered over to the Yamasees to burn, but 
General Oglethorpe sent a drum with a message to 
the Governor from the Indian chief of the Chero- 
kees, acquainting him that if he permitted Nicho- 
lausa to be burnt, a Spanish horseman who had 
been taken prisoner should suffer the same fate. 
He also mentioned that, as the Governor was a 
gentleman and a man of honor, he was persuaded 
that he would put an end to the barbarous usage of 

' Journal, II. 436. 

* He was sent to Old Spain, where he remained a prisoner, at 
Madrid, for several months ; and was finally exchanged, and re- 
turned home to Darien. 



GOVERNOR SUMMONED TO SURRENDER. 237 

that country ; and expected from the humanity of 
a Spanish cavalier that he would prohibit insults to 
the bodies of the dead, and indignities to the prison- 
ers ; and he rather wished it, as he should be forc- 
ed, against his inclination, to resort to retaliation, 
which his Excellency must know that he was very 
able to make, since his prisoners greatly exceeded 
those made by the Spaniards. Upon this the Gov- 
ernor submitted to the rescue of Nicholausa from 
the fate to which he had been destined. It was, 
also, agreed that the Indians, on both sides, should 
be treated as prisoners of war ; so that an end was 
put to their barbarous custom of burning the un- 
happy wretches who fell into their hands. 

Oglethorpe continued bombarding the castle and 
town until the regular troops came over from the 
land side, and the Carolina militia were removed 
from Point Quartel to Anastasia. He then sum- 
moned the Governor to surrender, but received an 
indignant refusal. 

Soon after some sloops, with a reinforcement of 
men, and a further supply of military stores and 
provisions from Havana, found means to enter the 
harbor through the narrow channel of the Matanzas, 

Upon this, all prospect of starving the enemy 
was lost ; and there remained only the chance of a 
forcible assault and battery. 



NEW MEASURES OF ATTACK. 

As the dernier resort, it was agreed, on the 23d 
of June, that Captain Warren, with the boats from 
the men of war, the two sloops hired by General 
Oglethorpe, and the Carolina vessels, with their 
militia, should attack the half- galleys ; and, at a 
given signal, the General should attack the trenches. 

This was a desperate measure ; for the whole of 
the troops belonging to the besiegers, including 
even the seamen, were much inferior in number to 
the garrison. The town was also covered on one 
side by a castle, with four bastions, and fifty pieces 
of cannon ; from whence was run an intrenchment, 
flanked with several salient angles to Fort Coovo, 
on the river Sebastian. This intrenchment con- 
sisted of the neck of land from the river Anastasia 
to that of St. Sebastian, and entirely covered the 
town from the island. 

Upon this the General drew in all the strength 
that he possibly could, and sent for the garrison 
that he had left at Diego. Being joined by them 
and by the Creek Indians, and having made a suffi- 
cient number of fascines and short ladders, provided 
all other necessaries for attacking the intrenchments, 
and brought up thirty-six cohorns, he received no- 
tice that the Commodore had resolved to forego 
the attack ; declaring, that, as the season of hur- 
ricanes was approaching, he judged it imprudent 



DEPARTURE OF THE FLEET. 

to hazard his Majesty's ships any longer on the 
coast.^ 

On the departure of the fleet, the place was no 
longer blockaded on the sea side ; of course the 
army began to despair of forcing the place to sur- 
render. The provincials, under Colonel Vander- 
dussen, enfeebled by the heat of the climate, 
dispirited by fruitless eflbrts, and visited by sickness, 
marched away in large bodies.^ The General him- 
self, laboring under a fever, and finding his men as 
well as himself worn out by fatigue, and rendered 
unfit for action, reluctantly abandoned the enter- 
prise. On, the fourth of July everything which 
he had on the island was reembarked, the troops 
transported to the continent, and the whole army 
began their march for Georgia ; the Carolina regi- 
ment first, and the General with his troops in the 
rear. On this occasion a very notable answer of 
the Indian Chief is reported ; for, being asked by 
some of the garrison to march off with them, " No! " 
said he, " I will not stir a foot till I see every man 

1 Appendix, No. XXIV. 

"- Dr. Ramsat, the historiau of South Carolina, with his usual 
frankness and impartiality, closes his narrative of this siege with 
the following remark. " On the 13th of August the Carolina regi- 
ment had reached Charlestown. Though not one of them had been 
killed by the enemy, their number was reduced, fourteen, by disease 
and accidents." 



240 THE SIEGE ABANDONED. 

belonging to me marched off before me ; for I have 
always been the first in advancing towards an ene- 
my, and the last in retreating." ^ 

" Thus ended the expedition against St. Augus- 
tine, to the great disappointment of both Georgia 
and Carolina. Many reflections were afterwards 
thrown out against General Oglethorpe for his con- 
duct during the whole enterprise. He, on the other 
hand, declared that he had no confidence in the 
Provincials, for that they refused to obey his orders, 
and abandoned the camp, and returned home in 
large numbers, and that the assistance from the fleet 
failed him in the utmost emergency. To which we 
may add, the place was so strongly fortified both 
by nature and art, that probably the attempt must 
have failed though it had been conducted by the 
ablest officer, and executed by the best disciplined 
troops." ^ 

The difficulties which opposed his success, showed 
the courage that could meet, and the zeal that strove 
to surmount them ; and, while we lament the failure, 
we perceive that it was owing to untoward circum- 
stances which he could not have foreseen ; and dis- 
appointn^ents from a quarter whence he most con- 
fidently expected and depended upon continued 

1 London Magazine, Vol. XXVII. p. 23. 
^ Harris's Voyage, II. 340. 



DUKE OF ARGYLE'S OPINION. 241 

cooperation and ultimate accomplishment. Refer- 
ring to this, in a speech in the British house of Peers, 
the Duke of Argjle made these remarks : " One 
man there is, my Lords, whose natural generosity, 
contempt of danger, and regard for the public, 
prompted him to obviate the designs of the Span- 
iards, and to attack them in their own territories ; 
a man, whom by long acquaintance I can confi- 
dently affirm to have been equal to his undertaking, 
and to have learijied the art of war by a regular edu- 
cation, who yet miscarried in the design only for 
want of supplies necessary to a possibility of suc- 
cess." ^ 

A writer, who had good authority for his opinion, 
declares, that, " though this expedition was not 
attended with the success some expected from it, 
the taking the fortress of St. Augustine, it was, 
nevertheless, of no little consequence, inasmuch as 
it kept the Spaniards for a long time on the defen- 
sive, and the war at a distance ; so that the inhabi- 
tants of Carolina felt none of its effects as a Colony, 
excepting the loss suffered by their privateers, till 
the Spaniards executed their long projected inva- 
sion in 1742, in which they employed their whole 
strength, and from which they expected to have 

' " Laudari viris laudatis" — to be praised by men themselves 
renowned, is certainly the most valuable species of commendation. 
31 



242 GOVERNOR BELCHER TO LORD EGMONT. 

changed the whole face of the Continent of North 
America ; andj even then, the people of Carolina 
suffered only by their fears." ^ 

In a letter to Lord Egmont, by Governor Bel- 
cher, dated Boston, May 24th, 1741, is this remark ; 
" I was heartily sorry for the miscarriage of General 
Oglethorpe's attempt on Augustine, in which I could 
not learn where the mistake was, or to what it was 
owing, unless to a wrong judgment of the strength 
of the place, to which the force that attacked it, 
they say,' was by no means equal. I wish that a 
part of Admiral Vernon's fleet and General Went- 
worth's forces may give it a visit, before the Span- 
iards sue for peace. It seems to me absolutely 
necessary for the quieting of the English possessions 
of Carolina and Georgia, that we should reduce 
Augustine to the obedience of the British crown, 
and keep it, as Gibraltar and Mahon." ^ 

' Harris's Voyages, Vol. H. page 340. 

^ Letter-book of his Excellency Jonathan Belcher, in the 
archives of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Vol. V. p. 254. 



CHAPTER XV. 

Oglethorpe pays particular attention to internal Improvements — 
Meets with many annoyances — Thie Creeks, under Toonahowi, 
make an incursion into Florida — The Spanish form a design 
upon Georgia — Some of their fleet appear on the coast — Ogle- 
thorpe prepares for defence — Applies to South Carolina for as- 
sistance — Spaniards attack Fort William — Dangerous situation 
of Oglethorpe — Spanish Aeet enter the harbor and land on St. 
Simons — In three successive engagements they are defeated — 
A successful stratagem — Enemy defeated at Bloody Marsh — 
Retire and attack Fort William, which is bravely defended by 
Ensign Stewart — Spanish forces, repulsed in all their assaults, 
abandon the invasion in dismay, and return to St. Augustine and 
to Cuba. 

Of the year 1741 but few memorials are to be 
found. Oglethorpe resided principally at Fred- 
erica ; but occasionally visited Savannah ; and, 
every where, and at all times, actively exerted his 
powers of persuasion, his personal influence, or his 
delegated authority to reconcile the jarring contests 
and restore the social accordance and peace of the 
community, while with vigilance and precaution he 



244 DIFFICULTIES STATED. 

concerted measures to guard the Colony against 
the threatening purposes of the Spaniards. In re- 
ference to his peculiar trials and vexatious annoy- 
ances, are the following remarks, copied from a let- 
ter of a gentleman at Savannah, deeply read in the 
early history of the Colony.* 

" The difficulties with which General Oglethorpe 
had to contend, were peculiarly onerous and per- 
plexing, not only with the Spanish foes, — with 
the restless Indians, — with the clamorous settle- 
ment, — with discontented troops, — with meagre 
supplies, — with the defection of Carolina, — with 
the protest of his bills, and with the refusal of 
a just naval protection ; — but the officers of his 
regiment were at enmity with him and with each 
other, and crimination and recrimination followed, 
disturbing the peace, and weakening the efficiency 
of the military corps. At a Court Martial, held 
in the early part of January, 1739, composed of 
thirteen officers, they, in their letter, dated 12th of 
January, to the General speak thus — '2d. That 
we have observed a great spirit of mutiny among 
the soldiers, particularly those of Lieutenant Colo- 
nel Cochran's company,' and ' 3d. That by evi- 
dence given in Court, it appears to us that Lieu- 

^ William B. Stevens, M. D., letter, October 19, 1840. 



OGLETHORPE'S PRECAUTIONS. 245 

tenant Colonel James Cochran was in the know- 
ledge of, and concealed a mutiny.' The wonder 
is, that, with such opposing influences, and such 
discordant materials, he effected any thing. That 
he achieved so much, under such adverse circum- 
stances, proves him to have been a firm, bold, in- 
trepid, and sagacious man ; to have possessed the 
most eminent military qualifications, and those ster- 
ling virtues which mock at the petty malice of the 
envious, and triumph over the machinations of ma- 
lignity." ■ 

He was, also, fully aware that, as the Span- 
ish of Florida and Cuba entertained no good will 
towards him, they would seek an opportunity to re- 
taliate his " assault and battery," which, though it 
had proved on his part a failure, had been to them 
a grievous annoyance. He, therefore, kept scout- 
boats continually on the look out, to give notice of 
the approach to the coast of any armed vessel. On 
the 16th of August advice was conveyed to him 
that a large ship had come to anchor off the bar. 
He immediately sent out the boat to ascertain what 
it was ; and it was perceived to be manned with 
Spaniards, with evidently hostile purpose. Where- 
upon he went on board the guard sloop to go in 
search of her ; took, also, the sloop Falcon, which 
was in the service of the Province ; and hired the 



246 SMALL NAVAL EQUIPMENT. 

schooner Norfolk, Captain Davis, to join the expe- 
dition. These vessels were manned by a detach- 
ment of his regiment under the following officers : 
viz: : Major Alexander Heron, Captain Desbrisay, 
Lieutenant Mackay, Lieutenant Tamser, Ensign 
Hogan, Ensign Sterling, and Ensigns Wemyss and 
Howarth, and Adjutant Maxwell ; Thomas Eyre, 
Surgeon and Mate ; six sergeants, six corporals, 
five drummers, and one hundred and twenty-five 
privates. Before they could get dowji to the bar, 
a sudden squall of wind and storm of thunder and 
rain came on ; and when it cleared up the vessel 
was out of sight. 

Unwilling, however, to lose the object of this 
equipment, on the next day he sailed directly to- 
wards St. Augustine in pursuit of the ship. On 
the 19th the Falcon sloop, being disabled, was sent 
back, with seventeen men of the regiment ; and 
the General proceeded with the guard sloop and 
schooner. On the 21st, by day-break, they dis- 
covered a ship and a sloop at anchor, about four or 
five leagues distant ; and, it being a dead calm, they 
rowed, till they came up to them, about noon, when 
they found one to be the black Spanish privateer 
sloop, commanded by a French officer, Captain 
Destrade, who had made several prizes to the north- 
ward ; and the other to be a three-mast ship ; both 



SPANISH VESSELS REPULSED. 247 

lying at anchor outside of the bar of St. Augustine. 
The General issued orders to board them, when the 
wind freshing up, and the English bearing down 
upon them, they began firing with great and small 
arms, and the English returning the fire, they imme- 
diately left their anchors, and run over the bar. 
The sloop and schooner pursuing them ; and, though 
they ei|gaged them for an hour and a quarter, they 
could not get on board. The Spanish vessels then 
run up towards the town ; and as they were hulled, 
and seemed disabled, six half-galleys came down, 
and kept firing nine-pounders, but, by reason of 
the distance, the shot did not reach the sloop or 
schooner. That night the General came to anchor 
within sight of the castle of St. Augustine, and the 
next day sailed for the Matanzas ; but, finding no 
vessel there, cruised off the bar of St. Augustine, 
and nothing coming out, the whole coast being thus 
alarmed, he returned to Frederica. 

There were three ships, and one two-mast vessel 
lying within the harbor at the time that the English 
engaged the sloop and ship.* 

This summer one of the Georgia boats off Tybee 
saved a three-mast vessel which the Spaniards had 
abandoned, leaving eighteen Englishmen on board, 

' Annals of Europe, page 404 . 



248 OGLETHORPE'S LETTER. 

after having barbarously scuttled her, and choked 
the pumps, that the men might sink with the ship; 
but the boat's men, getting on aboard in good time, 
saved the men and the ship. . 

It seems that the Creeks, in retaliation of some 
predatory and murderous outrages of the Florida 
outposts, made a descent upon them in return. This 
is referred to in the following extract from a letter 
of General Oglethorpe to the Duke of Newcastle, 
dated ' , ■ 

" Frederica, 12th of December, 1741. ' 

" My Lord, - ' , 

" Toonahowi, the Indian who had the honor of 
your Grace's protection in England, with a party 
of Creek Indians, returned hither from making an 
incursion up to the walls of Augustine ; near which 
thisy took Don Romualdo Ruiz del Moral, Lieuten- 
ant of Spanish horse, and nephew to the late 
Governor, and delivered him to me. ' 

" The Governor of Augustine has sent the en- 
closed letter to me by some English prisoners ; and, 
the prisoners there, the enclosed petition. On 
which I fitted out the vessels, and am going myself, 
with a detachment of the regiment, off the bar of 
Augustine, to demand the prisoners, and restrain 
the privateers." 



SPANISH HOSTILE DESIGNS. 249 

In the early part of the year 1742, the Spaniards 
formed a design upon Georgia, on which, from the 
time of its settlement, they had looked with a jealous 
eye.^ For this end, in May, they fitted out an arma- 
ment at Havanna, consisting of fifty-six sail, and 
seven or eight thousand men ; but the fleet, being 
dispersed by a storm, did not all arrive at St. Au- 
gustine, the place of their destination. Don Manuel 
de Monteano, Governor of that fortress, and of 
the town and region it protected, had the command 
of the expedition. ' 

About the end of May, or beginning of June, 
the schooner, which had been sent out on a cruise 
by General Oglethorpe, returned with the informa- 
tion that there were two Spanish men of war, with 
twenty guns each, besides two very large privateers, 
and a great number of small vessels^, full of troops, 
lying at anchor off the bar of St. Augustine. This 
intelligence was soon after confirmed by Captaiil 
Haymer, of the Flamborough man of war, who had 
fallen in with part of the Spanish fleet on the coast 
of Florida, and drove some vessels on shore. 

Having been apprized of this, the General, appre- 
hending that the Spaniiards had in view some formi- 
dable expedition against Georgia or Carolina, or 



' Appendix, No. XXV. 
32 



250 ATTEMPT ON AMELIA ISLAl^D. 

perhaps both, wrote to the Commander of his 
Majesty's ships, in the harbor of Charlestown, 
urging him to come to his assistance. Lieutenant 
Maxwell, the bearer, arrived and delivered the letter 
on the 12th of June. Directly afterwards he sent 
Lieutenant Mackay to Governor Glenn, of South 
Carolina, requesting his military aid with all expe- 
dition ; and this despatch reached him on the 20th. 
He then laid an embargo upon all the shipping in 
Georgia ; and sent messages to his faithful Indian 
allies, who gathered to his assistance with all readi- 
ness. 

And now the design of the Spaniards was man- 
ifest. On the 21st of June the fleet appeared on 
the coast ; and nine sail of vessels made an attempt 
on Amelia Island, but were so warmly received by 
the cannon from Fort William, and the guard- 
schooner of fourteen guns and ninety men, com- 
manded by Captain Dunbar, that they sheered oiF. 
When the General was informed of this attack, he 
resolved to support the fortifications on Cumber- 
land Island ; and set out with a detachment of the 
regiment in three boats ; but was obliged to make 
his way through fourteen sail of vessels. This 
was very venturesome, and, indeed, was considered 
as presumptuously hazardous. For, had a shot from 
one of the galleys struck the boat in which he was, 



AID SOUGHT FROM SOUTH CAROLINA. 251 

SO as to disable or sink it, or had he been overtaken 
by a gun-boat from the enemy, the colonial forces 
would have become the weakly resisting victims of 
Spanish exasperated revenge. But by keeping to 
the leeward, and thus taking advantage of the 
smoke, he escaped the firing and arrived in safety. 

After having withdrawn the command from St. 
Andrews, and removed the stores and artillery that 
were there, and reinforced Fort William,^ where he 
left one of the boats, he returned to St. Simons. 

He now sent another express to the Governor of 
South Carolina, by Mr. Malryne, informing him of 
his situation, and urging the necessity of a rein- 
forcement. This application was not promptly 
complied with, in consequence of an unfortunate 
prejudice arising from the failure of his attempt 
upon St. Augustine. But as Georgia had been a 
great barrier against the Spaniards, whose conquest 
of it would be hazardous to the peace and prosper- 
ity of South Carolina, "it was thought expedient 
to fit out some vessels to cruise down the coast, and 
see what could be done for its relief." ^ 

In the perilous emergency to which he was re- 
duced, Oglethorpe took, for the King's service, the 

' These two Forts were on Cumberland Island. 

' Williams's History of Florida, p. 185. ■ ' ' 



252 SPANISH FLEET APPROACH. 

merchant ship of twenty guns,, called the Success, — 
a name of auspicious omen, — commanded by Cap- 
tain Thompson, and manned it from the small ves- 
sels which were of no force. He also called in the 
Highland company from Darien, commanded by 
Captain Mcintosh ; the compariy of rangers ; and 
Captain Carr's company of marines. , 

On the 28th of June the Spanish fleet appeared 
off the bar below St. Simons ; but from their pre'- 
caution for taking the soundings and ascertaining 
the channel, was delayed coming in, or landing any 
of the troops, for several days ; in which time 
" the General raised another troop of rangers ; and, 
by rewarding those who did extraordinary duty, 
and offering advancement to such as should signal- 
ize themselves on this occasion, he kept up the 
spirits of the people, and increased the number of 
enlistments." ' He was placed, indeed, in a most 
critical situation ; but he bore himself with great 
presence of mind, and summoned to the emergency 
a resolution which difficulties could not shake, and 
brought into exercise energies which gathered vigor 
from hindrance, and rendered him insensible to fa- 
tigue, and unappalled by danger. This self-col- 
lected and iirm state of mind, made apparent in 

' The passages distinguished by inverted commas, without direct 
marginal reference, are from the official account. 



OGLETHORPE'S ARRANGEMENTS. 253 

his deportment and measures, produced a corres- 
ponding intrepidity in all around him ; inspired 
them with confidence in their leader ; and roused 
the determined purpose with united efforts to repel 
their invaders. 

At this critical juncture, his own services were 
multiplied and arduous ; for Lieutenant Colonel 
-Cook, who was Engineer, having gone to Charles- 
town, on his way to London,^ the General was 
obliged to execute that office himself, sometimes 
on ship-board, and sometimes at the batteries. He 
therefore found himself under the necessity of as- 
signing the command to some one on station, dur- 
ing his occasional absences; and accordingly ap- 
pointed Major Alexander Heron ; raising him to 
the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. 

On Monday, the 5th of July, with a leading gale 
and the flood of tide, a Spanish fleet of thirty-six 
sail, consisting of three ships of twenty guns, two 

' We shall see, in the sequel, that the absence of this officer, 
whatever its pretence, was with treacherous purpose, as may be 
surmised by the following extract from a letter to the Duke of New- 
castle, dated 30th of July> 1741 ; where, mentioning the despatches 
sent to Governor Glen, earnestly requesting some military aid, the 
General informs his Grace that " Lieutenant Colonel Cook, who 
was engineer, and was then at Charlestown, hastened away, to 
England ; and his son-in-law. Ensign Erye, sub-engineer, was also 
in Charlestown, and did not arrive here till the action was over ; 
so, for want of help, I was obliged to do the duty of an engineer." 



254 SPANISH FLEET ENTER THE HARBOR. 

large snows, three schooners, four sloops, and the 
rest half-galleys, with landsmen on board, entered 
the harbor ; and, after exchanging a brisk fire with 
the fort, for four hours, passed all the batteries and 
shipping, proceeded up the river. The same even- 
ing the forces were landed upon the island, a little 
below Gascoigne's plantation. A red flag was 
hoisted on the mizzen-top of the Admiral's ship, 
and a battery was erected on the shore, in which 
were planted twenty eighteen-pounders. On this, 
the General, having done all he could to annoy the 
enemy, and prevent their landing, and finding that 
the Fort at St. Simons had become indefensible, 
held a council of war at the head of his regiment ; 
and it was the opinion of the whole that the fort 
should be dismantled, the guns spiked up, the co- 
horns burst, and that the troops there stationed 
should immediately , repair to Frederica, for its de- 
fence. He accordingly gave orders for them to 
march, and sent for all the troops that were on 
board the vessels to come on shore. . 

As his only measures must be on the defensive, 
"he sent scouting parties in every direction to 
watch the motions of the enemy ; while the main 
body were employed in working at the fortifica- 
tions, making them as strong as circumstances 
would admit." ' , 

' McCall,!. 179. 



HOSTILE ATTEMPTS OF THE SPANIARDS. 255 

The Creek Indians brought in five Spanish pris- 
oners, from whom was obtained information that 
Don Manuel de Monteano, the Governor of St. 
Augustine, commanded in chief; that Adjutant 
General Antonio de Rodondo, chief engineer, and 
two brigades, came with the forces from Cuba; and 
that their whole number amounted to about five 
thousand men. 

Detachments of the Spaniards made several at- 
tempts to pierce through the woods, with a view to 
attack the fort ; but were repulsed by lurking In- 
dians. The only access to the town was what had 
been cut through a dense oak wood, and then led 
on the skirt of the forest along the border of the 
eastern marsh that bounded the island eastward. 
This was a defile so narrow, that the enemy could 
take no cannon with them, nor baggage, and could 
only proceed two abreast. Moreover, the Spanish 
battalions met with such obstruction from the de,ep 
morasses on one side, and the dark and tangled 
thickets on the other, and such opposition from the 
Indians and ambushed Highlanders, that every 
effort failed, with considerable loss. 
. On the morning of the 7th of July, Captain 
Noble Jones, with a small detachment of regulars 
and Indians, being on a scouting party, fell in with 
a number of Spaniards, who had been sent to recon- 



256 MAIN ARMY ON THE MARCH. 

noitre the route, and see if the way was clear, sur- 
prised and made prisoners of them. From these, 
information was received that the main army was 
on the march. This intelligence was immediately 
communicated, by an Indian runner, to the General, 
who detached Captain Dunbar with a company 
of grenadiers, to Join the regulars; with orders to 
harass the enemy on their way. Perceiving that 
the most vigorous resistance was called for, with his 
usual promptitude he took with him the Highland 
company, then under arms, and the Indians, and 
ordered four platoons of the regiment to follow. 
They came up with the vanguard of the enemy 
about two miles from the town, as they entered the 
savannah, and attacked them so briskly that they 
were soon defeated, and most of their party, which 
consisted of one hundred and twenty of their best 
woodsmen and forty Florida Indians were killed or 
taken prisoners. The General took two prisoners 
with his ovvn hands ; and Lieutenant Scroggs, of 
the rangers, took Captain Sebastian Sachio, who 
commanded the party. During the action Toona- 
howi, the nephew of Tomo Chichi, who had com- 
mand of one hundred Indians, was shot through 
the right arm by Captain Mageleto, which, so far 
from dismaying the young warrior, only fired his 
revenge. He ran up to the Captain, drew his pistol 



TROOPS IN AMBUSCADE. 257 

with his left hand, shot him through the head, and, 
leaving him dead on the spot, returned to his com- 
pany.* 

The General pursued the fugitives more than a 
mile, and then halted on an advantageous piece of 
ground, for the rest of the troops to come up, vv^hen 
he posted them, with the Highlanders, in a wood 
fronting the road through the plain by which the 
main body of the Spaniards, who were advancing, 
must necessarily pass. After which he returned, 
with all speed, to Frederica, and ordered the rangers 
and boat-men to make ready, and all to use their 
utmost endeavors to resist the invaders. 

During his temporary absence on this pressing 
emergency. Captain Antonio Barba, and two other 
Captains with one hundred grenadiers, and two 
hundred foot, besides Indians and negroes, advanced 
from the Spanish camp into the savannah with 
drums and huzzas, and halted within an hundred 
paces of the position where the troops left by Ogle- 
thorpe lay in ambuscade. They immediately stacked 
their arms, made fires, and were preparing their 
kettles for cooking, when a horse observed some of 
the concealed party, and, frightened at the uniform 
of the regulars, began to snort. This gave the 



' Gentleman^ s Magazine, XII. 497. 
33 



258 SPANIARDS REPULSED. 

alarm. The Spaniards ran to their arm's, but were 
shot down in great numbers by their invisible assail- 
ants ; and, after repeated attempts to form, in which 
some of their principal officers fell, they decamped 
with the utmost precipitation, leaving the camp 
equipage on the field. So complete was the sur- 
prise, that many, fled without their arms; others, in 
a rapid retreat, discharged their muskets over their 
shoulders at their pursuers ; and many were killed 
by the loaded muskets that had been left on the 
ground. Generally the Spaniards fired so much at 
random, that the trees were pruned by the balls 
from their muskets.^ 

The General, returning with all expedition, heard 
the report of the musketry, and rode towards it ; 
and, near two miles from the place of action, met 
some platoons, who, in the heat of the fight, the air 
being so darkened by the smoke that they could 
not see where to direct their fire, and a heavy 
shower of rain falling, had retired in disorder. He 
ordered them to rally and follow him, apprehending 
that immediate relief might be wanting. He arrived 
just as the battle ceased ; and found that Lieutenant 
Sutherland, with his platoon, and Lieutenant Charles 
Mackay, had entirely defeated the enemy. 

* McCall's History, I. 185. 



BATTLE OF BLOODY MARSH. 259 

In this action Don Antonio de Barba, their leader, 
was made a prisoner, but mortally wounded. " In 
both actions, the Spaniards lost four captains, one 
Lieutenant, two sergeants, two drummers, and more 
than an hundred and fifty privates. One captain, 
one corporal, and twenty men were taken prisoners. 
The rest fled to the woods, where many of them 
were killed by the Indians, who brought in their 
scalps." ' 

Captain Demerey and ensign Gibbon being ar- 
rived, with the men they had rallied. Lieutenant 
Cadogan with the advanced party of the regiment, 
and soon after the whole regiment, Indians and 
rangers, the General marched down to a causeway 
over a marsh, very near the Spanish camp, over 
which all were obliged now to pass ; and thereby 
stopped those who had been dispersed in the fight, 
from getting back to the Spanish camp. Having 
passed the night there, the Indian scouts in the 
morning got so near the Spanish place of encamp- 
ment, as to ascertain that they had all retired into 
the ruins of the fort, and were making intrench- 
ments under shelter of the cannon of the ships. 
Not deeming it prudent to attack them while thus 
defended, he marched back to Frederica, to refresh 

^ From the great slaughter, the scene of this action has ever since 
been called " the bloody marsh." 



260 GALLEYS APPROACH. 

the soldiers ; and sent out parties of Indians and 
rangers to harass the enemy. He now, at a general 
staff, appointed Lieutenant Hugh Mackay and 
Lieutenant Maxwell, Aids de camp, and Lieutenant 
Sutherland, Brigade Major. 

While signal instances of heroism were thus 
honored, he warned the troops of the necessity of 
union and vigilance, of prompt attention to orders, 
and of maintaining an unflinching firmness in every 
emergency ; for in these, under God, depended 
their safety. 

Although he thus encouraged others, he was 
himself filled with perplexity. He began to despair 
of any help from Carolina. His provisions were 
bad and scarce, and, while the enemy commanded 
the river and the harbor, no supplies could be ex- 
pected. Of all this, however, he gave no intimation, 
but, firm and self-possessed, submitted to the same 
fare with the meanest soldier, exposed himself to 
as great fatigue, and often underwent greater priva- 
tions. At the same time his fixed resolution and 
irrepressible zeal in the defence and protection of 
his people, nerved him to further and even greater 
exertions. 

On the 1 1th the great galley and two small ones, 
approached within gun-shot of the town ; but they 
were repulsed by guns and bombs from the fort, 



SPANISH PLOT. 261 

and the General followed them in his cutter, with 
attendant boats, well manned, till he got under the 
cannon of their ships, which lay in the sound. 

This naval approach, as appeared afterwards, was 
in consequence of a concerted plot. It seems that, 
at the commencement of the siege of St. Augustine, 
a Spanish officer quitted one of the outer forts and 
surrendered himself to Oglethorpe, who detained 
him prisoner of war. He was readily communi- 
cative, and gave what was supposed important in- 
formation. After the close of the war, he might 
have been exchanged ; but he chose to remain, 
pretending that the Spaniards looked upon him as 
a traitor. He, at length, so artfully insinuated 
himself into favor with the magnanimous Oglethorpe, 
that he was treated with great courtesy. On this 
invasion he begged permission to retire into thp 
northern colonies of the English, saying that he 
apprehended that if he should fall into the hands of 
the Spaniards, they would deal rigorously with him. 
The General, not being aware of any treacherous 
design, gave him a canoe to go up the river till he 
was out of danger ; whence he might proceed by 
land to some back settlement. Some days past and 
he came back to Frederica, pretending that he could 
not make his way through, nor by, the fleet without 
being discovered and captured. Most fortunately,. 



262 SPANISH SPY DETECTED. 

some clays after his return, an English prisoner, 
who had escaped from one of the ships of war, 
acquainted the General with the treachery of this 
officer, assuring him that he had been aboard at 
such a time, and talked over his insidious project of 
setting fire to the arsenal which contained all the 
powder and military stores, and that its explosion 
should be the signal to the Spanish galleys to ap- 
proach, and, in the confusion of the occasion, make 
an assault upon the fort. This disclosure confirmed 
suspicions which had been excited by some of his 
management since his return ; and he was put 
under guard. In consequence of this precaution, 
the concerted signal could not be given ; and the 
ruinous project was most happily defeated.^ 

July 12th, two English prisoners who had effect- 
ed an escape, one from the fleet, and one from the 
camp, informed the General that the Spaniards, not 
having anticipated such vigorous resistance, had 
become restless and dispirited, especially since they 
had ascertained by their roll how great was their 
loss of men ; and that the state of the wounded 
was distressing. They added that these discom- 
fitures were increased by the want of water on 
board the ships, which was so great that tKe troops 

* Uklspukger, IV. p. 1260, 



STATE OF THE SPANISH CAMP. 263 

were put upon half allowance, which, in this hot 
weather was a grievous deprivation, and that seve- 
ral, from the effect of the climate, were sick and 
unfit for service. They apprized him, also, that 
they had holden a council of war, in which there 
were gr^at divisions, insomuch that the troops of 
Cuba separated from those of Augustine, and en- 
camped at a distance near the woods. 

This latter circumstance suggested the idea of 
attacking them while divided ; and his perfect 
knowledge of the woods favored the project of sur- 
prising one of their encampments. In furtherance 
of this design, he drew out three hundred regular 
troops, the Highland company, the rangers, and In- 
dians, and marched in the night, unobserved within 
a mile and a half of the Spanish camp. There 
his troops halted, and he advanced at the head of 
a select corps to reconnoitre the enemy. While he 
was using the utmost circumspection to obtain the 
necessary information without being discovered, an 
occurrence of the most villanous nature, discon- 
certed the project. As the particulars of this have 
been variously narrated, I am happy in being en- 
abled to give the General's own account of the 
affair.^ In his official despatch to the Duke of 

* Transcribed from the Georgia Historical documents, by my ex- 



264 INSIDIOUS CONDUCT OF A FRENCHMAN. 

Newcastle, dated at Frederica, in Georgia, 30th of 
July, 1742, he sajs, — " A Frenchnian who, with- 
out my knowledge was come down among the vol- 
unteers, fired his gun, and deserted. Our Indians 
in vain pursued, but could not take him. Upon 
this, concluding that we should be discovered, 1 
divided the drums into difierent parts, and they 
beat the Grenadier's march for about half an hour; 
then ceased, and we marched back in silence. The 
next day I prevailed with a prisoner, and gave him 
a sum of money to carry a letter privately, and de- 
liver it to that Frenchman who had deserted. This 
letter was written in French, as if from a friend of 
his, telling him he had received the money ; that he 
should try to make the Spaniards believe the Eng- 
lish were weak ; that he should undertake to pilot 
up their boats and galleys, and then bring them 
under the woods, where he knew the hidden bat- 
teries were ; that if he could bring that about he 

cellent friend T. K. Tefft, Esq., of Savannah. The particu- 
lars of this singularly interesting ruse de guerre are detailed 
in all the accounts of the Spanish invasion ; and in each with 
some variation, and in all rather more circumstantially than 
the above. See Gentlemaii's Magazine for 1742, p. 695; London 
Magazine for 1758, p. 80 ; Hewatt's History of South Carolina, 
Vol. II. p. 117; McCall's History of Georgia, I. p. 184; Ramsay's 
History of the United States, I. 167, and Marshall's History of the 
Colonies, p. 289. 



RESULT OF THE PLOT. 265 

should have double the reward he had already re- 
ceived ; and that the French deserters should have 
all that had been promised to them. The Spanish 
prisoner got into their camp, and was immediately 
carried before the General, Don Manuel de Mon- 
teano. , He was asked how he escaped, and whether 
he had any letters ; but denying he had any, was 
strictly searched, and the letter found, and he, upon 
being pardoned, confessed that he had received 
money to deliver it to the Frenchman, (for the let- 
ter was not directed.) The Frenchman denied his 
knowing any thing of the contents of the letter, or 
having received any money, or correspondence w^ith 
me. Notwithstanding which, a council of war 
was held, and they decreed the Frenchman to be a 
double spy ; but General Monteano would not suf- 
fer him to be executed, having been employed by 
him. However they embarked all their troops with 
such precipitation that they left behind their can- 
non, &c., and those dead of their wounds, un- 
buried." 

The Spanish General now deemed it expedient 
to relinquish a plan of conquest attended with so 
many difficulties, and the further prosecution of 
which would put to hazard the loss of both army 
and fleet, and perhaps of the whole Province of 
Florida. 

34 



266 SPANISH FORCES WITHDRAW. 

" On the 14th of July the Spaniards burned all 
the works and houses on the south end of St. Si- 
mons and Jekyl islands. 

" On the 15th the large vessels, with the Cuba 
forces on board, stood out to sea ; and the Gov- 
ernor and troops from St. Augustine embarked in 
the galleys and small vessels, and took the inland 
passage, and encamped on the north end of Cum- 
berland island, at Fort St. Andrews. 

" The next day the General pursued the enemy, 
and, landing where they had encamped, sent an 
express in the night to Ensign Alexander Stewart, 
who commanded at Fort William, directing him, in 
case of an attack, to defend the place to the last 
extremity ; and that he would reinforce him early 
the next day. At day-light twenty-eight sail of 
the Spanish line appeared off Fort William, four- 
teen of which came into the harbor, and demanded 
a surrender of the garrison. Stewart replied that 
it should not be surrendered, and could not be 
taken. They attacked the works from their gal- 
leys and other vessels, and attempted to land ; but 
were repulsed by a party of rangers, who hdd ar- 
rived by a forced march down the island. Stewart, 
with only sixty men, defended the fort with such 
bravery, that, after an assault of three hours, the 
enemy discovering the approach of Oglethorpe^ put 



OGLETHORPE PURSUES THE SPANISH. 267 

to sea, with considerable loss. Two galleys were 
disabled and abandoned ; and the Governor of St. 
Augustine proceeded with his troops bv the inward 
passage. Ensign Stewart was rewarded, by pro- 
motion, for the bravery of his defence."^ 

" On the 20th, General Oglethorpe sent his 
boats and rangers as far as the river St. John. 
They returned the next day with the information 
that the enemy were quite gone." 

A few days after, the armed ships from South 
Carolina came to St., Simons; but the need of 
them was then over ; and even of the British men 
of war upon the American station, though they had 
a month's notice, none appeared upon the coast of 
Georgia until after the Spanish troops were all em- 
barked, and their fleet was upon its return to Ha- 
vana and to St. Augustine. 

In the account of the Spanish invasion, by the 
Saltzburg preachers at Ebenezer, are these very 
just reflections : "Cheering was the intelligence 
that the Spaniards, with all their ships of war and 
numerous military force, had raised the siege in 
shame and disgrace, and retired to Augustine ! 
Doubtless they feared lest English ships of war 
should approach and draw them into a naval com- 

' McCall,Vo1. I. p. 188. 



268 THANKSGIVING APPOINTED. ' 

bat, for which they could have no desire. Nay, 
they feared, no doubt, that their own Augustine 
would suffer from it." 

Devoutly acknowledging the protecting and fa- 
voring providence of God in this wonderful deliver- 
ance from a most formidable invading foe. General 
Oglethorpe appointed a day of Thanksgiving to be 
observed by the inhabitants of the Colony.^ 

Thus was the Province of Georgia delivered, 
when brought to the very brink of destruction by a 
formidable enemy. Don Manuel de Monteano had 
been fifteen days on the small island of St. Simons, 
without gaining the least advantage over a handful 
of men ; and, in the several skirmishes, had lost a 
considerable number of his best troops, while Ogle- 
thorpe's loss was very inconsiderable.^ 

The writer of a letter from Charlestown, South 
Carolina, has this remark ; " that nearly five thou- 
sand men, under the command of so good an officer 
as the Governor of St. Augustine, should fly be- 
fore six or seven hundred men, and about one hun- 
dred Indians, is matter of astonishment to all."^ 



' Appendix, No. XXVI. 
8 McCall, I. 188. 

' Gentleman's Magazine for 1742, p. 695. See also Appendix, 
No. XXVII. for an account of the forces. 



DELIVERANCE OF GEORGIA. 269 

The Rev. Mr. Whitefield, in a letter to a noble 
Lord, sajs, " The deliverance of Georgia from the 
Spaniards, one of my friends writes me, is such as 
cannot be paralleled but by some instances out of 
the Old Testament. I find that the Spaniards had 
cast lots, and determined to give no quarter. They 
intended to have attacked Carolina, but, vi^anting 
water, they put into Georgia, and so would take 
that Colony on their way. But the race is not 
to the swift, nor the battle to the strong. Provi- 
dence ruleth all things. They were wonderfully 
repelled and sent away before our ships were 
seen." ^ " A little band chased a thousand ; and a 
small one overcome a large people." 

The writer of the History of the rise, progress, 
and settlement of the Colony of Georgia, so often 
quoted in this chapter, closes his account of this 
invasion with the following remark : " Instead of 
raising and heightening their success, to do honor 
to the General's character; we ought rather to 
lessen or diminish some of the circumstances, to 
render it, in such an age as this, more credible. 
But we have taken no liberties at all. The facts 
are represented, step by step, as they happened ; 
and the reader left to make his own inferences, es- 
timate, and opinion."^ 

» Letters, Y. I. let. CCCCLXXXIX. p. 467. 
^ Harris's Voyages, II. 345. 



270 LETTERS OF CONGRATULATION. 

The Governors of New York, New Jersey, 
Pennsjlvania, Maryland, Virginia and North Car- 
olina, addressed letters to Oglethorpe, " congratu- 
lating him upon the important services rendered to 
the Colonies ; and assuring him of the interest 
which thej felt in the honor he had acquired by his 
indefatigable exertions, constant exposure, extraor- 
dinary courage, and unequalled military conduct ; 
and offering their humble thanks to the Supreme 
Governor of nations for placing the fate of the 
Southern Colonies under the direction of a General 
so well qualified for the important trust." ^ 

' For some of ihe letters see the work last quoted. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Oglethorpe, informed that the Spaniards were making preparations 
for a renewal of hostilities, takes measures to repel them — Meets 
with an alarming accident — Lands on the Florida side of St. 
John's — Proceeds towards St. Augustine — The Spanish do not 
venture out to attack him — Returns to the Islands — Sees that 
the Forts are repaired — Takes passage to England to attend a 
Court Martial on an insidious charge against him by Lieutenant 
Cook — Is honorably acquitted, and Cook is dismissed from the 
service. 

In the beginning of the year 1743, General Ogle- 
thorpe, having had information that the Spaniards 
of St. Augustine were making preparations for 
another invasion of Georgia,^ took measures to 
repel it ; and set out, at the head of a force con- 
sisting of a company of grenadiers, a detachment 
of his own regiment, the Highlanders, and the 
Georgia rangers, and a numerous collection of 
Indians. 

' " They were so apprehensive of this at South Carolina, that 
the fortifications of Charlestown were repaired and augmented." 
Boyse's Historical Review, Vol.T. p. 381. 



272 OGLETHORPE'S DESCENT UPON FLORIDA. 

He came very near being killed in his shallop, 
while sailing to reconnoitre St. Augustine ; but 
Providence averted the fatality of the blow which 
he received. One of his cannon burst, and a piece 
of a sail-yard struck the head of the General, and 
so wounded him that the blood gushed from his 
ears and nose. The injury, happily, was not so 
great but that he soon collected himself, and cheered 
up his alarmed attendants.^ 

On the 6th of March he landed on the Florida 
side of St. John's river, and attacked a much more 
numerous party of the Spanish troops than that 
under his command, quartered at Fort Diego, forty 
of whom were killed in the engagement and pur- 
suit, and the rest made their escape into the castle. 

After this he proceeded to the neighborhood of 
St. Augustine ; and, having placed the greatest part 
of his troops in ambuscade, marched with the rest 
almost to the walls of the fortress, in hopes that 
the Spaniards, upon seeing so small a party, would 
have sallied out to have engaged it, in which case 
he was resolved to have made a retreating fight, in 
order to draw the enemy into the ambush which he 
had prepared for them. But, it seems, that by acci- 
dent they discovered the concealment of the troops, 

^ Urlspukger, IV. 2073. 



OGLETHORPE GOES TO ENGLAND. 273 

and deemed it prudent to remain in their strong- 
hold. This stratagem having been frustrated, 
Oglethorpe, perceiving that an assault vv^ould be 
unavailing, marched back to the river, where he 
continued for some time, expecting that the enemy 
would come out, and endeavor to drive him from 
their territory, but, as they made not the attempt, 
and as the affairs of the Colony as well as his own, 
required his presence in England, he returned, to 
make arrangements for going thither. 

Having seen that the fortifications on St. Simons 
and the other islands were repaired and greatly im- 
proved, Oglethorpe took passage on the 23d of July, 
1743, in the guard-ship commanded by Captain 
Thompson, having with him Colonel Heron, Mr. 
Eyre, stib-engineer, and several others belonging to 
the regiment, and arrived in London on the 25th 
of September, where his personal presence was 
required to meet and answer an impeachment 
lodged against him in the War-office by Lieutenant 
Colonel William Cook. As soon as Oglethorpe 
arrived, he insisted that the allegations should be 
examined by a board of General Officers ; but, as 
Cook gave in a list of several persons in Georgia 
and some in South Carolina, who, he said, were 
material witnesses, no investigation could be had 
till they should be heard. In consequence of this, 

35 



274 ~ COURT MARTIAL. 

and other delays, the Court Martial was not opened 
till the 4th of June, 1744. It continued two days 
in session ; when, after a strict scrutiny into the 
complaint, article by article of the nineteen specific 
charges, the board werie of opinion that " the whole 
and every article thereof was groundless, false, and 
malicious." On the presentation of the Report to 
his Majesty he was pleased to order that the said 
Lieutenant Colonel Cook should be dismissed the 
service. 

This indictment by one who had been treated 
with great kindness, and who owed his preferment 
to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel to the particular 
favor of the General, was not only ungrateful, but 
insidious and base. 

The faithful Annalist of America, the Reverend 
Doctor Holmes, closes his reference to this transac- 
tion with this just and honorable reflection : " By 
the decision of this board, the character of this able 
General now appeared in resplendent light ; and 
his contemporaries acknowledged, what impartial 
history must record, that to him Carolina was in- 
debted for her safety and repose, as well as Georgia 
for existence and protection." ^ 

And here closes the history of the settlement of 

' American Annals, II. 19. 



CLOSE OF THE SETTLEMENT. 275 

Georgia ; in a great degree the project and the 
furtherance of one man, who must be allowed to 
possess the foremost rank among those, who, by 
well-concerted plans, and judicious and persevering 
measures for their accomplishment, have high claims 
on public gratitude, as warm and devoted patriots, 
and enlightened philanthropists. Embracing in 
one comprehensive view the effectual relief of the 
reduced or neglected, the planting of a Colony, and 
the promotion of its progressive improvement and 
welfare, it is the appropriate praise of the founder 
of Georgia, that, with a sagacity and foresight 
which are never sufficiently to be admired, a zeal 
and fortitude never exceeded, and a devotedness to 
the object which never relaxed, he commenced and 
carried on the arduous enterprise. 

In " An account, showing the progress of the 
Colony of Georgia in America from its first estab- 
lishment ; published by order of the Honorable the 
Trustees," London, 1741, is the following eulogy 
of Oglethorpe, made by those who best knew how 
truly it was deserved. 

" A Gentleman who may be justly termed the 
Romulus, father and founder of Georgia ; a gentle- 
man who, without any view but that of enlarging 
his Majesty's dominions, propagating the Protestant 
religion, promoting the trade of his country, and 



276 EULOGY ON OGLETHORPE. 

providing for the wants and necessities of indigent 
christians, has voluntarily banished himself from the 
pleasures of a Court, and exposed himself repeatedly 
to the dano;ers of the vast Atlantic ocean in several 
perilous and tedious voyages ; instead of allowing 
himself the satisfaction which a plentiful fortune, 
powerful friends, and great merit entitle him to in 
England, has inured himself to the greatest hard- 
ships that any the meanest inhabitant of this new 
Colony could be exposed to ; his diet has been 
mouldy bread, or boiled rice instead of bread, salt 
beef, pork, &c., his drink has been water ; and his 
bed the damp earth, without any other covering 
than the canopy of heaven to shelter him : and all 
this to set an example to this new Colony how they 
might bear with such hardships in their new settle- 
ment." 

A recent publication bestows also a tribute of 
commendation, in the following terms : " As gov- 
ernor of the new Colony, he was exposed to num- 
berless difficulties and vexations ; but persevered 
with great ardor in the scheme, and expended large 
sums out of his private fortune with a view to 
ensure its success." ^ 

' Geor&ian ^ra ; or Memoirs of the most eminent persons who 
have flourished in Great Britain from the accession of George I. to 
the death of George IV. Lond. 1834. 4 voL VoL IL p. 43. 



COMMENDATORY VERSES. 277 

I give, also, an extract from "lines to General 
Oglethorpe, on the settlement of Georgia," pub- 
lished in the South Carolina Gazette, June, 1733. 

"The fame of Tyrants should, if justice swayed, 
Be howled through deserts their amhition made; 
But Oglethorpe has gained a well-earne^ praise, 
Who made' the heirs of want, the lords of ease: 
The gloomy wood ,to plenteous harvests changed. 
And founded cities where the wild beasts ranged. 
Then may the great reward assigned by fate 
Crown his own wish to see the work complete ! " • 



CHAPTER XVIL 

Oglethorpe's residence in England — Marriage — Military appoint- 
ments — A Major General under the Duke of Cumberland for the 
suppression of the rebellion in 1745 — Arraigned at a Court Mar- 
tial and acquitted — Domestic and social life, and character — 
Death. 

Having accomplished the great design of settling 
the Colony of Georgia, watched over its nascent 
feebleness, cherished its growth, defended it from 
invasion, vindicated its rights, and advanced its in- 
terests and welfare, Oglethorpe resigned the super- 
intendence and government into other hands, and 
retired tp his country seat at. Godalming, " to rest 
under the shade of his own laurels." 

In March, 1744<, he was appointed one of the 
officers under Field Marshal, the Earl of Stair, to 
oppose the expected invasion from France. 

Having been so happy as to form a tender at- 
tachment to an amiable lady, which was recipro- 
cated, he married, on the 13th of September, 1744, 



OGLETHORPE MARRIED. 279 

Elizabeth, the only daughter of Sir Nathan Wright, 
Baronet, of Cranham Hall, Essex.' 

His chief residence was at his country seat ; but 
he spent his winters in the venerable family man- 
sion in St. James, Westminster, London, to attend 
his duties as member of Parliament and enjoy the 
society of men of the first respectability for rank, 
talents, and literature. 

On the 25th of March, 1745, he was promoted 
to the rank of Major General ; and the Rebellion 
breaking out in that year, he was placed at the 
head of four companies of cavalry, one of which 
bore the title of " Georgia Rangers."^ They had 
been raised at the expense of some loyal individ- 
uals, to act against the insurgents ; " and," (says 
an Historian who had the best authority for the de- 
claration,) ^ " they did very signal service to their 



^ Oa this occasioa some congratulatory verses were written by 
(he Rev. Moses Brown, and printed in the Gentleman's Magazine, 
Vol. XIV. p. 558. 

* Marshal Wade, the Commander in Chief, had under him the 
following officers, viz. : Lieutenant Generals Lord Tyrawly, and 
Wentworth ; the Major Generals Howard, Huske, and Oglethorpe ; 
and the Brigadier Generals Mordaunt and Chemondelly. 

^ See Impartial History of the Rebellion in 1745, from authentic 
memoirs, particularly the Journal of a General Officer, and other 
original papers ; with the characters of the persons principally con- 
cerned. By Samuel Boyse. 8vo. Dublin. 1748. p. 80. 



280 FORCES AGAINST THE PRETENDER. 

country." Their uniform was blue, faced with red ; 
and they wore green cockades. They did not en- 
camp with the foot, but were quartered in the 
towns. 

As this expedition was commenced late in the 
fall, the King's troops were retarded in their opera- 
tions by the rigor of the season, their late forced 
marches, and a most uncomfortable diarrhoea, which 
prevailed among the soldiers ; but g^od quarters, 
proper refreshments, and the extraordinary care of 
their officers, relieved, these difficulties, and put the 
army into so good a condition as enabled them to 
go through the campaign with fewer inconveniences 
and much less loss than could reasonably be ex- 
pected, considering the great hardships and exces- 
sive fatigues to which they were exposed. 

As soon as Marshal Wade had intelligence at 
Newcastle of the route which the rebels had taken, 
he resolved, notwithstanding the severity of the 
season, to march thence to the relief of CarHsle. 
Accordingly, on the 16th of November, the army 
began to move for that purpose. His Excellency 
intended to have begun his march as soon as it 
was light ; but, moving from the left, the troops 
which had the van, delayed their motions several 
hours, to the great prejudice of the expedition ; for 
the weather being extremely cold, and the travel- 



MARCH OF THE TROOPS. 281 

ling impeded by a deep snow, or made rough by 
frozen ground, the troops suffered very much. The 
Major Generals Howard and Oglethorpe, and the 
Brigadiers, Cholmondley and Mordaunt, marched 
on foot at the head of the infantry to encourage 
the soldiers. It was eight at night and very dark 
before the front line got into the camp at Oving- 
ton ; and though the soldiers resolutely pressed 
forward, yet, the roads being terribly broken and 
full of ice, it was foreseen that many of the last 
column might drop, through e:3fcessive fatigue ; and 
therefore the Major Generals Huske and Ogle- 
thorpe sent out countrymen with lights and carts to 
assist the rear guard, and bring up the tired men. 
In this service they were employed till near nine 
the next morning. 

On the 17th the Marshal continued his march 
to Hexham, where he arrived, with the first line, 
about four in the afternoon, but the rear of the 
army did not come up till near midnight. Having 
received intelligence that Carlisle had surrendered, 
he resolved to march back to Newcastle ; but, the 
weather continuing bad, and the roads become in 
a manner impassable, he did not arrive there with 
his army till the 16th ; and, even then, the forces 
under his command were so exhausted by fatigue, 
and lamed by travelling, that, if it had not been 

36 



% 



282 DUKE OF CUMBERLAND'S ARMY. 

for the great care taken of them by the people of 
Newcastle, they must have been, not only disheart- 
ened, but disqualified for service. 

In the meantime the Duke of Cumberland's 
army was forming in Staffordshire ; for, upon the 
approach of the Rebels, it was resolved that his 
Royal Highness should be sent down to command 
the forces in that part of the kingdom ; and he ar- 
rived at Litchfield on the 28th of November. 
' Towards the latter end of the month, the army, 
under the command of Marshal Wade, began to 
move ; the cavalry having reached Darlington and 
Richmond by the 25th. On the 29th the infantry 
was at Persbridge, whence he proposed to march 
to Wetherby, and there canton the whole army in 
the adjacent villages ; looking upon this as the most 
convenient station either for distressing the enemy, 
should they attempt to retire, or for cooperating 
with the forces of his Royal Highness, as occasion 
should render necessary. 

On the 8th of December the Marshal held a 
council of war, at Ferry-bridge, to consider of the 
most effectual means for cutting off the Highlanders 
on their retreat ; and, in this council it was resolved 
to ' tnarch directly to Wakefield and Halifax into 
Lancashire, as the most likely way of intercepting 
the rebels. Having arrived at Wakefield on the 



MOVEMENTS OF OGLETHORPE. 283 

10th, and having advice that the main body of the 
rebels was at Manchester, and their van-guard mov- 
ing from thence towards Preston, and finding that 
it vvas now impossible to come up with them, he 
judged it unnecessary to fatigue the forces by hard 
marches, and, therefore, detaching Major General 
Oglethorpe, on the 11th, with the cavalry under 
his command, he began the march, with the rest of 
the forces to Newcastle. On the^lSth a great body 
of the horse and dragoons under Oglethorpe arrived 
at Preston, having marched a hundred miles in 
three days over roads naturally bad, and at that time 
almost impassable with snow and ice ; " which," 
says the Historian, " was a noble testimony of zeal 
and spirit, especially in the new raised forces." 

His Royal Highness immediately gave his orders 
for continuing the pursuit of the rebels, with the 
utmost diligence. Accordingly Oglethorpe ad- 
vanced towards Lancaster ; which place the Duke 
reached on the 16th. Oglethorpe, continuing his 
pursuit at the heels of the rebels, arrived on the 
17th in front of a village called Shap, where their 
rear was supposed to be, just before night-fall, in 
very bad weather. Here he held a consultation 
with his officers, in which it was decided that the 
lateness of the hour, and the exhaustion of the 
troops, rendered it inexpedient to make the attack 



284 COURT MARTIAL. 

that night. He, therefore, entered the neighboring 
village to obtain forage, and to refresh. Mean- 
while the Duke pressed on; and, next morning, 
when he came to Shap, found that it had been 
abandoned by the rebels; but was surprised. at see- 
ing on his right, towards the rear, an unexpected 
body of troops. It turned out to be Oglethorpe's 
corps, which, from being the van-guard of the 
army, had thus unafccountably become the rear. 
Vexed at the disappointing occurrence, he caused 
Oglethorpe to be arraigned before a Court Martial, 
for having " lingered on the road." His trial came 
on at the Horse-guards on the 29th of September, 
and ended the 7th of October, 1746 ; when " he 
was honorably acquitted, and his Majesty was gra- 
ciously pleased to confirm the sentence."^ 

' See London Gazette for October 20th, 1746 ; and the Memoir in 
European Magazine for 1785. 

Croker, in a note to his edition of Boswell's Life of Johnson, 
Vol. I. page 97, says that " though acquitted, he was never again 
employed. It is by no means surprising that this neglect should 
have mortified a man of Oglethorpe's sensibility ; and it is to be in- 
ferred, from Mr. Boswell's expressions, that, late in life, he had in 
vain solicited for ' some mark of distinction,' to heal his wounded 
feelings." The last intimations are confuted by the advancements in 
military rank stated in the following pages of these memorials. 
The " mark of distinction," deserved, perhaps expected, but cer- 
tainly not " solicited," might be that of Knight, a title worn by his 
father, as also by the father of his wife. 



PROMOTION OF OGLETHORPE. 285 

As a still higher proof that he stood high in pub- 
lic estimation, on the 13th of September, 1747, he 
was made Brigadier General in the British army. 

On the establishment of the British Herring 
Fishery, in 1750, he took a very considerable part, 
and became one of the Council ; in which situa- 
tion, on the 25th of October he delivered to the 
Prince of Wales the Charter of incorporation in a 
speech which was printed in, the public journals. 

In 1754 he was candidate for the borough of 
Hasleniere, vvhich he had represented in former 
Parliaments ; but on the close of the poll, the num- 
bers were found to be for J. Moore Molyneaux, 75 ; 
Philip Carteret Webb, 76 ; Peter Burrel, 46 ; and 
Oglethorpe only 45. 

On February 22d, 1765, he was raised to the 
rank of General of all his Majesty's forces ; and 
for many years befoi'e his death was the oldest gen- 
eral officer on the stafF.^ 

Here, perhaps, is the proper place to introduce 
an anecdote given by Major McCall, in his History 
of Georgia, Yol. I. p. 325, too striking to be omit- 
ted. " At the commencement of the American 

' In the Army list, issued from the War Office, 20th July, 1781, 
and in Stockdale's Calendar for the year 1785, (the year of Ogle- 
thorpe's death,) both of which are iiow before me, his name is first 
on the list. 



286 ANECDOTE FROM McCALL. 

Revolution, being the senior officer of Sir William 
Howe, he had the prior offer of the command of 
the forces appointed to subdue the Rebels. He 
professed his readiness to accept the appointment, 
' if the Ministry would authorize him to assure the 
Colonies that justice should be done them.' His 
proposal appeared to be the result of humanity and 
equity. He declared that ' he knew the Ameri- 
cans w'ell ; that they never would be subdued by 
arms ; but that obedience would be secured by 
doing them justice.' A man with these views was 
not a fit instrument for the British Government, 
and therefore, agreeably to his own request, he was 
permitted to remain at home." 

McCall refers to " the Annual Register," for 
his authority; but, after careful searching, 1 do not 
find the statement. The intermediate comments, 
and the last sentence, are undoubtedly the Major's. 
The anecdote is also related in Ramsay's History 
of the United States, Vol. HI. p. 166. ' 

I ihuch doubt, however, that an official offer was 
made to him, as he was too old to engage in such 
a service ; and deem the statement not sufficiently 
authenticated to be relied on. 

He continued to reside, principally, at Cranham 
Hall, in Essex, a fine country seat of which he be- 
came possessed by his marriage with the heiress of 



SOCIAL LIFE OF OGLETHORPE. 287 

Sir Nathan Wright. In this beautiful retreat, fa- 
vored with the enjoyment of uninterrupted health, 
the possession of worldly competence, and the 
heart-cheering comforts of connubial life, he looked 
back upon the chequered scene of his former ser- 
vices with lively gratitude that he had escaped so 
many dangers, and been an honored instrument of 
effecting so much good ; and the present happy 
condition of his lot was heightened by its contrast 
with past hardships, fatigues, and perils. 

He passed his winters in London, where he en- 
joyed the acquaintance and even intimacy of some 
of the most honorable and distinguished characters of 
the day. " A gentleman and a soldier, he united 
the virtue of chivalrous honor and magnanimity with 
the acquirements of learning and that love of po- 
lite literature which associated him with the first 
scholars of the age." One who knew him inti- 
mately has said, " This extraordinary person was 
as remarkable for his learning and taste, as for 
his other eminent qualities ; and no man was 
more prompt, active, and generous in encouraging 
merit." ^ 

To the celebrated Dr. Johnson he was respect- 



' BoswELL, in the Life of Johnson^ Vol. L p. 97^ of Crokee's edi- 
tion. 



288 BOSWELL'S REGARD FOR OGLETHORPE. 

fully attached ; and was fond of having him often 
as a guest. Boswell has detailed some pleasing 
particulars of these interviews ; and, after relating 
one, adds in a note the following remarks : " Let 
me here pay a tribute of gratitude to the memory 
of that excellent person, my intimacy with whom 
was the more valuable to me, because my first ac- 
quaintance with him was unexpected and unso- 
licited. Soon after the publication of my ' Ac- 
count of Corsica,' he did me the honor to call on 
me, and approaching me with a frank, courteous 
air, said, ' Sir, my name is Oglethorpe, and I wish 
to become acquainted with you.' I was not a little 
flattered to be thus addressed by an eminent man, 
of whom I had read in Pope from my early years, 

" Or, driven by strong benevolence of soul, 
Will fly like Oglethorpe from pole to pole." 

1 was fortunate enough to be found worthy of his 
good opinion, insomuch that 1 was not only invited 
to make one of the many respectable companies 
whom he entertained at his table, but had a cover 
at his hospitable board every day when I happened 
to be disengaged ; and in his society I never failed 
to enjoy learned and animated conversation, sea- 
soned with genuine sentiments of virtue and re- 
ligion." 1 

' Vol. III. p. 225. 



DR. JOHNSON'S PROPOSAL. 289 

Dr. Warton, referring to Oglethorpe, says, " I 
had the pleasure of knowing him well ; " and, in 
a note upon the couplet quoted from Pope, says, 
" Here are lines that will justly confer immortality 
on a man who well deserved so magnificent an 
eulogium. He was, at once, a great hero, and a 
great legislator. The vigor of his mind and body 
have seldom been equalled. The vivacity of his 
genius continued to great old age. The variety of 
his adventures, and the very different scenes in 
which he had been engaged, made me regret that 
his life has never been written. Dr. Johnson once 
offered to do it, if the General would furnish him 
the materials. Johnson had a great regard for him, 
for he was one of the first persons that highly, in 
all companies, praised his " London." His first 
campaign was made under Prince Eugene against 
the Turks, and that great General always spoke of 
Oglethorpe in the highest terms. But his settle- 
ment of the Colony of Georgia gave a greater lustre 
to his character than even his military exploits." 

With Goldsmith, too, he was intimate. In the 
lately published biography of this poet by Prior,^ 
referring to the occasional relief contributed to him 
in his exigences, it is added, " Goldsmith was con- 



> Vol. II. p. 457. 
37 



290 INVITATION TO GOLDSMITH. 

tent, likewise, to be made the channel of convey- 
ance for the bounty of others, as we find by a letter 
of General Oglethorpe, a distinguished and amiable 
man, at whose table he met with good society, and 
spent many agreeable hours, and who now, at an 
advanced period of life, displayed the same love for 
the good of mankind, in a private way, that he had 
exerted on a more extended scale." With the letter 
he sent five pounds, to be distributed in aid of a 
charitable institution, in whose behalf Goldsmith 
seems to have taken an active interest ; and the 
letter concluded with this kindly expressed invi- 
tation ; " If a farm, and a mere country scene will 
be a little refreshment from the smoke of London, 
we shall be glad of the happiness of seeing you at 
Cranham Hall." 

It is asserted that " his private benevolence was 
great. The families of his tenants and dependants 
were sure of his assistance whilst they deserved it ; 
and he has frequently supported a tenant, whose 
situation was doubtful, not merely forbearing to ask 
for rent, but lending him money to go on with his 
farm."^ 

Of his public liberality, repeated mention has 
been made in the course of this work, more particu- 

' Gentleman's Magazine for July, 1785, p. 518. 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 291 

larlj in the settlement of Georgia ; in the further- 
ance of which he not only bore his own expenses, 
but procured various outfits. He also contributed pe- 
cuniary assistance and conferred favors to encourage 
exertion, or reward well doing. No one excelled 
him in those smaller attentions to the interests and 
gratification of his friends and acquaintance ; which, 
though they do not of themselves constitute a great 
character, are, certainly, very pleasing recommenda- 
tions of it. 

It is not denied that he had his imperfections and 
errors ; and some, for which the plea of human 
frailty alone may not be a sufficient excuse. He 
was rather passionate in his temper, impatient of 
contradiction, and quick in his resentments ; but, 
upon any ingenuous concession, was placable and 
ready to admit an apology. To the humble offender 
he was reconcilable, and to the submissive, mag- 
nanimous. In the heyday of life, a soldierly pride, 
or military point of honor, sometimes betrayed him 
into indiscretions or involved him in rencounters, to 
which, as he became more mature in age and in 
judgment, a dignified sense of true greatness ren- 
dered him superior. Some instances of rashness 
have been noted by Walpole with unsparing vitu- 
peration ; ' and some self-complacent or boasting 

* "All the stories of Horace "Walpole are to be received with great 



292 SOCIAL QUALITIES. 

sallies, have been pointed at by Croker with a sar- 
castic sneer. But, admitting that these were far 
from being venial faults, yet it would be very 
uncharitable now to recall them from the forgetful- 
ness and forgiveness in which they have long been 
passed over ; especially as they were fully redeemed 
by noble qualities and beneficent deeds. Surely, 
he who was celebrated by Pope and Thompson, 
honored by the Reverend Dr. Burton, vindicated 
and praised in Parliament by the excellent Duke of 
Argyle, and favored by the regards of Dr. Johnson, 
" the English moralist," * must have had a large 
prevalence of what, in the opinion of the best 
judges, is estimable in disposition and conduct, and 
irreproachable in character ! 

He had a pleasing talent at narrative, and when 
animated by the cheering attention of his friends, 
he would give full scope to it. Anecdotes of times 
past, incidents and scenes of his eventful life, and 
occurrences which had passed uilder his observation, 

caution ; but his Reminiscences, above all, written in his dotage, 
teem with the grossest inaccuracies and incredible assertions." 
Lord Mahon's History of England. Lond. 1837. Vol. IL p. 174, 
note. 

' This honored friend he outlived ; and, while attending the sale 
qf his library, February 18th, 1785, the fine characteristic portrait 
of him was taken by S. Ireland, an engraving of which makes the 
frontispiece of this volume. 



FEMALE FRIENDS. 293 

when detailed bj him at length, and set off with 
his amusing episodical remarks and illustrationsj 
made him a most entertaining chronicler. These 
were sometimes enlivened with a sportive humor 
that gave a charm to the social hour, and contributed 
to the amusement of his guests and friends. If in 
his extreme old age he indulged in egotisms or 
loquacity, still his observations were those of one 
who had seen and read much, and was willing to 
communicate his acquired knowledge and the results 
of his observation and experience ; and few who 
attended to him, did so without receiving informa- 
tion and entertainment. Even his old stories of his 
own acting, served to confirm what he said, and he 
made them better in the telling ; so that he was 
rarely troublesome with the same tale told again, 
for he gave it an air of freshness. 

Polite in his address and graceful in his manners, 
the gallant veteran was a favorite visiter in the 
parties of accomplished ladies that occasionally met 
at the house of Mrs. Montague, Mrs. Garrick, Mrs. 
Boscawen, and Mrs. Carter. ^Hannah More, in a 
letter to her sister, in 1784, says, " I have got a 
new admirer ; it is the famous General Ogle- 
thorpe, perhaps the most remarkable man of his 
time. He was foster-brother to the Pretender ; and 
is much above ninety years old ; the finest figure 



294 HANNAH MORE PRAISES OGLETHORPE. 

you ever saw. He perfectly realizes all my ideas 
of Nestor. His literature is great ; his knowledge 
of the world extensive ; and his faculties as bright 
as ever. He is one of the three persons still living 
who were mentioned by Pope ; Lord Mansfield and 
Lord Marchmont are the other two. He was the 
intimate friend of Southern, the tragic poet, and all 
the wits of that time. He is, perhaps, the oldest 
man of a Gentleman living. I went to see him the 
other day, and he would have entertained me by 
repeating passages from Sir Eldred. He is quite a 
preux chevalier, heroic, romantic, and full of the 
old gallantry."' In another letter, she mentions 
being in company with the General at Mrs. Vesey's, 
where the Dutchess of Portland and Mrs. Delany 
were present, and where " Mr. Burke talked a 
great deal of politics with General Oglethorpe. He 
told him, with great truth, that he looked upon him 
as a more extraordinary person than any he had 
ever read of, for he had founded the province of 
Georgia ; had absolutely called it into existence, 
and had lived to see it severed from the Empire 
which created it, and become an independent 
State." ^ 

The late President, John Adams, saw Oglethorpe 
in 1785, a short time before his decease. Within 

> Life and Letters, Vol. T. p. 181. = Ibid. 204. 



OGLETHORPE VISITS PRESIDENT ADAMS. 295 

a day or two after Iiis arrival in London, as Ambas- 
sador from the United States, had been announced 
in the public prints, the General called upon him ; 
as was very polite and complimentary. " He had 
come to pay his respects to the first American 
Ambassador and his Family, whom he was glad to 
see in England ; expressed a great esteem and 
regard for America ; much regret at the misunder- 
standing between the two countries ; and felt very 
happy to have lived to see the termination of it." ^ 
There was something peculiarly interesting in this 
interview. He who had planted Georgia, and pro- 
vided for it during the earliest stages of its depend- 
ent condition as a Colony, held converse with him 
who had come to a Royal Court, the Representative 
of its National Independence ! 

A writer in the year 1732, and within the month 
on which the charter for Georgia w^as issued, made 
the following remarks : " If the Trustees give liberty 
of Religion, establish the people free, fix an agrarian 
law, and go upon the glorious maxims of liberty 
and virtue, their Province, in the age of a man, by 
being the asylum of the unfortunate, will become 
more and more advantageous to Britain than the 
conquest of a kingdom."^ The suggestion here 

* See a letter from President Adams to Dr. Holmes. Annals, 
Vol. II. p. 530. 

* London Magazine for 1732, p. 198. 



296 OGLETHORPE'S DEATH. 

made was seasonable and judicious ; and the pros- 
pective intimation was a prophecy, accomplished in 
a sense not imagined, and surely not anticipated by 
the writer. The Province did become, whilst its 
founder was yet living, and therefore " in the age 
of a man," a highly advantageous acquisition to 
Great Britain in a commercial relation ; and, though 
dismembered from the Empire, an important inde- 
pendent State. 

This remarkable man, abstemious in his mode of 
living, regular in his habits, and using much exer- 
cise, enjoyed good health to extreme old age ; and 
such was his activity, that he could outwalk persons 
more than half a century younger. At that period 
of advanced life, when the weight of years usually 
bears down the elasticity of the mind, he retained 
all that spring of intellect which had characterized 
the promptitude of earlier days ; his bodily senses 
seemed but little impaired ; and his eye-sight served 
him to the last. 

He died at his seat at Cranham, of a violent 
fever, 30th of June, 1785. 

"And dropt like Autumn fruit, which, ripening long, 
Was "wondered at because it fell no sooner." ^ 

^ The library of General Oglethorpe was sold by Calderwood in 
1788. It comprised standard works of Ancient and Modern His- 
tory, of the Drama, Poetry, and Polite Literature. 



CONCLUDING REMARKS. 297 

The preceding pages have given details of some 
principal actions and exploits of a very remarkable 
man ; whose projects, dictated by benevolence and 
inspired by philanthropy, were all prospective. Their 
first, and, apparently, principal object, was to pro- 
vide relief for the indigent, and an asylum for the 
oppressed. Their second, to unite the pensioners 
on the liberally contributed bounty, in a social com- 
pact for mutual assistance, and a ready cooperation 
for the general good. But even this, beneficent as 
it was, fell short of his aim. He considered him- 
self to be engaged in forming a Colony, destined 
to extend and flourish under the salutary principles 
of order and justice, and the sustaining sanctions 
of civil law, and a form of government, which his 
breast swelled with the patriotic hope, would be 
well constituted and wisely administered. 

This very statement of the origin of these politi- 
cal institutions, bears on it the indications of their 
perpetuity, especially as the freedom obtained for 
the first emigrants from rigorous exaction in their 
native country, was remembered and cherished in 
that which they settled, till it formed the constit- 
uents of civil liberty, which at length " threw ofi" 
every yoke," for the attainment of National Inde- 
pendence. 

38 



298 MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTION. 

Hence, his agency, services and expenditures in 
settling the Province of Georgia, his disinterested 
devotedness to its establishment and progressive 
welfare, and his bravery and personal exposure in 
its defence, enrolled among the important achieve- 
ments of his long and eventful life, constitute the 
most splendid trophy to his fame, and will ensure 
to his name a memory as lasting as that of America 
itself. 



On a mural tablet of white marble, in the chanr 
eel of Cranham Church, is the following inscrip- 
tion, drawn up by Capel Lofft, Esq. 

Near this place lie the remains of 

James Edwaeb Oglethokpe, Esq. 

who served under Prince Eugene, 

and in 1714 was Captain Lieutenant in the 

first troop of the Queen's Guards. 

In 1740 he was appointed Colonel of a Regiment 

to be raised for Georgia. 

In 1745 he was appointed Major General ; 

' in 1747 Lieutenant General ; and 

in 1760, General of his Majesty's forces. 
In his civil station, 
. he was very early conspicuous. 

He was chosen Member of Parliament 

for Haslemere in Surry in 1722, 

and continued to represent it till 1754. 

In the Committee of Parliament, 



MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTION. 299 

for inquiring into the state of the gaols, 

formed 25th of February, 1728, 

and of which he was Chairman, 

the active and persevering zeal of his benevolence 

found a truly suitable employment, 

by visiting, with his colleagues of that generous body, 

the dark and pestilential dungeons of the Prisons 

which at that time dishonored the metropolis ; 

detecting the most enormous oppressions ; 

obtaining exemplary punishment on those who had been 

guilty of such outrage against humanity and justice ; 

and redressing multitudes from extreme misery 

to light and freedom. 

Of these, about seven hundred, rendered, by long confinement 

for debt, strangers and helpless in the country of their birth, 

and desirous of seeking an asylum in the wilds of America, 

were by him conducted thither in 1732. 

He willingly encountered in their behalf - 

a variety of fatigue and danger, - 

and thus became the founder of 

the Colony of Georgia ; 

a Colony which afterwards set the noble example 

of prohibiting the importation of slaves. 

This new establishment 

he strenuously and successfully defended 

against a powerful attack of the Spaniards. 

In the year in which he quitted England 

to found this settlement, 

he nobly strove to secure 

our true national defence by sea and land, 

— a free navy — 
without impressing a constitutional militia. 
But his social affections were more enlarged 
than even the terra Patriotism can express ; 



300 MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTION. 

he was the friend of the oppressed negro, -^ 

no part of the globe was too remote, — 

no interest too unconnected, — 

or too much opposed to his own, 

to prevent the immediate succor of suffering humanity. 

For such qualities he received, 

from the ever memorable John, Duke of Argyle, 

a full testimony, in the British Senate, 

to his military character, 

his natural generosity, 

his contempt of danger, 

and regard for the Public. 

A similar encomium is perpetuated in a foreign language ;^ 

and, by one of our most celebrated Poets, 

his remembrance is transmitted to posterity 

in lines justly expressive of 

the purity, the ardor, and the extent of his benevolence. 

He lived till the 1st of July, 1785; 

a venerable instance to what a duration 

a life of temperance and virtuous labor 

is capable of being protracted. 

His widow, Elizabeth, 

daughter of Sir Nathan Wright of Cranham hall, Bart. 

and only sister and heiress of Sir Samuel Wright, Bart. - 

of the same place, 

surviving, with regret, 

but with due submission to Divine Providence, 

an affectionate husband, 

after an tmion of more than forty years, 

hath inscribed to his memory 

these faint traces of his excellent character. 

• Keferring to the encomium of the Abbe Raynal, in his Histoire Phi- 
losophique et Politique. 



I 



MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTION. 301 



*' Religion watches o'er his urn, 
And all the virtues bending mourn ; 
Humanity, with languid eye, 
Melting for others' misery ; 
Prudence, whose hands a measure hold, 
And Temperance, with a chain of gold ; 
Fidelity's triumphant vest, 
And Fortitude in armor drest ; 
Wisdom's grey locks, and Freedom, join 
The moral train to bless his shrine, 
And pensive all, around his ashes holy, 
Their last sad honors pay in order melancholy." ' 

• These last verses were added by the old friend of the General, the 
Rev. Moses Browne. 



OBITUARY NOTICE 



MRS. ELIZABETH OGLETHORPE, 



WITH EXTRACTS FROM HER WILL. 



OBITUARY NOTICE, 

COPIED FKOM THE GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE FOR 1787, PAGE 1025. 

October 26th, 1787, died, at her seat, Cranham 
Hall, Co. Essex,* aged 79, Mrs. Elizabeth Ogle- 
thorpe, widow of the late General Oglethorpe. She 
was daughter of Sir Nathan Wright, Bart., (nephew 
to the Lord Keeper,) by Abigail, his fourth wife, who 
survived and married Mr. Trjst. Sir Nathan, by 
his first wife, (Anne Meyrick) had two sons ; Na- 
than, who succeeded him in title, and who married 
a daughter of Sir Francis Lawley, and died in 
April, 1737 ; and John, who died without issue. 
By his second vvife, (Elizabeth Brage) he had a 
son, Benjamin, who died before him. By his third 

' This old mansion, situated on a pleasant rising ground, was 
built about the end of the reign of James I. In the hall is a very 
fine whole-length picture of Mr. Nathan Wright, a considerable 
Spanish merchant in the beginning of Charles the First's time, who 
resided long in that country, by Antonio Arias, an eminent painter 
of Madrid ; and the more curious, as perhaps there is not another 
picture of that able master in England. Gentleman's Magazine, 
LV. 51S. 

39 



306 ^I^S. OGLETHORPE'S WILL. 

wife, (Elizabeth Bowater) he had no issue. By the 
fourth he had a son, Samuel; and Mrs. Oglethorpe. 
Sir Nathan, the son, had one son and two daugh- 
ters ; and the son dying without issue, his half- 
brother, Samuel, succeeded to the title and part of 
the estate. He dying a bachelor, Mrs. Oglethorpe 
became his heir, and has died without leaving any 
child. September 15, 1744, she married the late 
General Oglethorpe, who died July 1, 1785 ;^ and 
to her magnanimity and prudence, on an occasion of 
much difficulty, it was owing that the evening of 
their lives was tranquil and pleasant, after a stormy 
noon. Very many and continual were her a!cts of 
benevolence and charity ; but, as she would herself 
have been hurt by any display of them in her life- 
time, we will say no more. Not to have mentioned 
them at all would have been unjust to her memory, 
and not less so to the world, in which such an ex- 
ample may operate as an incitement to others to go 
and do likewise. 



' The date for the time of the death of General Oglethorpe, 
which is given on the 296th page of this volume, was taken from 
the public Gazettes. As it took place late in the night, it might be 
rather uncertain as to its being the close of one day or the begin- 
ning of another. But the above, corroborated by the testimony of 
the monumental inscription, must be correct. I regret, however, 
that I did not perceive it sooner. T. M. H. 



MRS. OGLETHORPE'S WILL. 307 

By her will, which is very long, and dated May 
30, 1786, and has four codicils, the last dated Sep- 
tember 11, 1787, she leaves her estate at Westbrook, 
in Godalming, Co. Surrey, bequeathed to her by 
the General, to his great nephew, Eugene, Mar- 
quis of Bellegarde, in France, then in the Dutch 
service, but born in England, and his heirs, with 
all her plate, jewels, &c. ; to her nephews, John 
and Charles Apreece^ and their sister Dorothy, wife 

of Cole, an annuity of £100 ampngst them, 

and the survivor for life ; and if either John or 
Charles succeed to the Baronet's title, the annuity 
to go over to the other ; but if their sister survive, 
she to have only £200 per annum ; also four an- 
nuities, of £50 each, to four of her female friends 
or neighbors. All these annuities are charged on 
the Cranham estate, which she gives in trust to Sir 
George Allanson Wynne, Bart., and Mr. Granville 
Sharpe, for the use of her nephew, Sir Thomas 
Apreece, of Washingley, Co. Huntingdon, for life, 
remainder in tail to his issue male or female, re- 
mainder to his brothers John and Charles, and sis- 
ter Dorothy, successively, remainder to her own^ 
right heirs. The manor of Canewdon Hall, Essex, 
to be sold to pay legacies, viz. : £100 to Sir G. A. 
Wynne ; £1000 to the Princess of Rohan, related 
to her late husband; £500 to the Princess de 



308 MRS. OGLETHORPE'S WILL. 

Ligne, her late husband's niece; £1000 to Samuel 
Crawley, Esq., of Theobalds, Co. Herts; £500 
among the Miss Dawes's, of Coventry ; £500 to 
James Fitter, Esq., of Westminster ; £500 to the 
Marquis of Bellegarde. , The manor of Fairstead 
Hall, Co. Essex, to Granville Sharpe, for life, pay- 
ing £50 per annum to his friend Mr. Marriott, relict 
of General Marriott, of Godalming, and to settle 
the said estate to charitable uses after his death, at 
his discretion. To Edward Lloyd and Sarah his 
wife, her servants, £500 ; and £10 each, to other 
servants. By a codicil : to Maria Anne Stephenson 
£1000 stock out of any of her property in the 
funds ; to Miss Lewis, who lives with Mrs. Fowle, 
in Red-lion square, and to Miss Billinghurst, of Go- 
dalming, £50 each ; to the poor of Cranham, Fair- 
stead, Canewdon, and Godalming, £20 each ; her 
turn of patronage to the united livings of St. Mary 
Somerset and St. Mary Mounthaw, in London, to 
the Rev. Mr. Herringham, of South Weald. By 
another codicil, £1000 more to the Marquis of 
Bellegarde; £1000 to Count Bethisy; £200 to 
Granville Sharpe. By another, revokes the lega- 
cies to the Princess de Ligne and Count Bethisy, 
and gives them to the two younger daughters of 
the Marquis of Bellegarde, at the age of 21, or 
marriage. As the Marquis resides in France, and 



MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTION. 309 

it may be inconvenient to him to keep the estate, 
she gives the manors of Westbrook and Brims- 
combe, and Westbrook-place in Godalming, in 
trust to G. Sharpe, and William Gill, Esqrs., and 
their heirs, to be sold, and the money paid to the 
Marquis. Her executors are Mr. Granville Sharpe, 
and Mrs. Sarah Dickinson, of Tottenham ; the lat- 
ter residuary legatee. 

At the foot of the monument erected to the 
memory of General Oglethorpe, was added the fol- 
lowing inscription : 



" His disconsolate "Widow died October 26, 1787, 
in her 79th year, 
and is buried with him, 
in the vault in the centre of this Chancel. 
Her fortitude of mind and extensive charity- 
deserve to be remembered, 
though her own modesty would desire them to - 
be forgotten." 



OGLETHORPE'S 



ACCOUNT OF 



CAROLINA AND GEORGIA 



This article is extracted from Salmon's Modern History^ 
Vol. III. page 770, 4th edition ; where it is introduced in these 
words : " The following pages are an answer from General 
Oglethokpe to some inquiries made by the author, concerning 
the State of Carolina and Georgia." 



ACCOUNT 



CAROLINA AND GEORGIA. 



Carolina is part of that territory which was orig- 
inally discovered by Sir Sebastian Cabot. The 
English now possess the sea-coast from the river 
St. John's, in 30 degrees, 21 minutes north lati- 
tude. Westward the King's charter declares it to 
be bounded by the Pacific ocean. 

Carolina is divided into North Carolina, South 
Carolina, and Georgia ; the latter is a province 
which his Majesty has taken out of Carolina, and 
is the southern and western frontier of that province, 
lying between it and the French, Spaniards, and 
Indians. 

The part of Carolina that is settled, is for the 
most part a flat country. All, near the sea, is a 
range of islands, which breaks the fury of the 
ocean. Within is generally low land for twenty or 
twenty-five miles, where the country begins to rise 

40 



314 CAROLINA AND GEORGIA. 

ill gentle swellings. At seventy or eighty miles 
from the sea, the hills grow higher, till they termi- 
nate in mountains. 

The coast of Georgia is also defended from the 
rage of the sea by a range of islands. Those 
islands are divided from the main by canals of salt 
water, navigable for the largest boats, and even for 
small sloops. The lofty woods growing on each 
side of the canals, make very pleasant landscapes. 
The land, at about seven or eight miles from the 
sea, is tolerably high ; and the further you go west- 
ward, the more it rises, till at about one hundred 
and fifty miles distance from the sea, to the west, 
the Cherokee or Appallachean mountains begin, 
which are so high that the snow lies upon them all 
the year. 

This ridge of mountains runs in a line from north 
to south, on the back of the English colonies of 
Carolina and Virginia ; beginning at the great lakes 
of Canada, and extending south, it ends in the 
province of Georgia at about two hundred miles 
from the bay of Appallachee, which is part of the 
Gulf of Mexico. There is a plain country from 
the foot of these mountains to that sea. 

The face of the country is mostly covered with 
woods. The banks of the rivers are in some places 
low, and form a kind of natural meadows, where 



CAROLINA AND GEORGIA. 315 

the floods prevent trees from growing. In other 
places, in the hollows, between the hillocks, the 
brooks and streams, being stopt by falls of trees, or 
other obstructions, the water is penned back. These 
places are often covered with canes and thickets 
and are called, in the corrupted American dialect, 
swamps. The sides of the hills are generally 
covered with oaks and hickory, or wild walnuts, 
cedar, sassafras, and the famous laurel tulip, which 
is esteemed one of the most beautiful trees in the 
world. The flat tops of the hillocks are all covered 
with groves of pine trees, with plenty of grass 
growing under them, and so free from underwood, 
that you may gallop a horse for forty or fifty miles 
an end. In the low grounds and islands in the river, 
there are cypress, bay-trees, poplar, .plane, frankin- 
cense or gum-trees, and aquatic shrubs. All parts 
of the province are well watered ; and, in digging 
a moderate depth, you never miss of a fine spring. 

What we call the Atlantic ocean, washes the 
east and southeast coast of these provinces. The 
gulf stream of Florida sets in with a tide in the 
ocean to the east of the province ; and it is very 
remarkable that the banks and soundings of the 
coast extend twenty or twenty-five miles to the 
east of the coast. 

The tides upon this coast flow generally seven 



316 ACCOUNT OF GEORGIA. 

feet. The soundings are sand or ooze, and some 
ojster banks, but no rocks. The coast appears low 
from the sea, and covered with woods. 

Cape Fear is a point which runs with dreadful 
shoals far into the sea, from the mouth of Clarendon 
river in North Carolina. Sullivan's Island and the 
Coffin land are the marks of the entry into Charles- 
town harbor. Hilton head, upon French's island, 
shows the entry into Port Royal ; and the point of 
Tybee island makes the entry of the Savannah 
river. Upon that point the Trustees for Georgia 
have erected a noble signal or light-house, ninety 
feet high, and twenty-five feet wide. It is an 
octagon, and upon the top there is a flag-staff thirty 
feet high. 

The Province of Georgia is watered by three 
great rivers, which rise in the mountains, namely, 
the Alatamaha, the Ogechee, and the Savannah ; 
the last of which is navigable six hundred miles for 
canoes, and three hundred miles for boats. 

The British dominions are divided from the Span- 
ish Florida by a noble river called St, John's. 

These rivers fall into the Atlantic ocean ; but 
there are, besides these, the Flint and the Cahooche, 
which pass through part of Carolina or Georgia, 
and fall into the gulf of Appellachee or Mexico. 

All Carolina is divided into three parts : 1 . North 



ACCOUNT OF GEORGIA. 317 

Carolina, which is divided from South Carolina by 
Clarendon river, and of late by a line marked out 
by order of the Council : 2. South Carolina, which, 
on the south is divided from 3. Georgia by the 
river Savannah. Carolina is divided into several 
counties ; but in Georgia there is but one yet erected, 
namely, the county of Savannah. It is bounded, 
on the one side, by the river Savannah, on the other 
by the sea, on the third by the river Ogechee, on 
the fourth by the river Ebenezer, and a line drawn 
from the river Ebenezer to the Ogechee. In this 
county are the rivers Vernon, Little Ogechee, and 
Westbrook. There is the town of Savannah, where 
there is a seat of judicature, consisting of three 
bailiffs and a recorder. It is situated upon the 
banks of the river of the same name. It consists 
of about two hundred houses, and lies upon a plain 
of about a mile wide ; the bank steep to the river, 
forty-five feet perpendicularly high. The streets 
are laid out regular. There are near Savannah, in 
the same county, the villages of Hampstead, High- 
gate, Skidoway, and Thunderbolt ; the latter of 
which is a translation of a name ; their fables say 
that a thunderbolt fell, and a spring thereupon arosei 
in that place, which still smells of the bolt. This 
spring is impregnated with a mixture of sulphur 
and iron, and from the smell, probably, the story 



318 ACCOUNT OF GEORGIA. 

arose. In the same county is Joseph's town and 
the town Ebenezer ; both upon the river Savannah ; 
and the villages of Abereorn and Westbrook. There 
are saw mills erecting on the river Ebenezer ; and 
the fort Argjle, lies upon the pass of this county over 
the Ogechee. In the southern divisions of the 
province lies the town of Frederica, with its dis- 
trict, where there is a court with three bailiffs and 
a recorder. It lies on one side of the branches of 
the Alatamaha. There is, also, the town of Darien, 
upon the same river, and several forts upon the 
proper passes, some of four bastions, some are only 
redoubts. Besides which there are villages in 
different parts of Georgia. At Savannah there is 
a public store house, built of large square timbers. 
There is also a handsome court house, guard house, 
and work- house. The church is not yet begun ; 
but materials are collecting, and it is designed to 
be a handsome edifice. The private houses are 
generally sawed timber, framed, and covered with 
shingles. Many of them are painted, and most 
have chimneys of brick. At Frederica some of the 
houses are built of brick ; the others in the Province 
are mostly wood. They are not got into luxury yet 
in their furniture ; having only what is plain and 
needful. The winter being mild, there are yet but 
few houses with glass windows. 



INDIANS OF GEORGIA. 319 

The Indians are a manly, well-shaped race. The 
men tall, the women little. They, as the ancient 
Grecians did, anoint with oil, and expose themselves 
to the sun, which occasions their skins to be brown 
of color. The men paint themselves of various 
colors, red, blue, yellow, and black. The men 
wear generally a girdle, with a piece of cloth drawn 
through their legs and turned over the girdle both 
before and behind, so as to hide their nakedness. 
The women wear a kind of petticoat to the knees. 
Both men and women in the winter wear mantles, 
something less than two yards square, which they 
wrap round their bodies, as the Romans did their 
toga, generally keeping their arms bare ; they are 
sometimes of woolen, bought of the English ; some- 
times of furs, which they dress themselves. They 
wear a kind of pumps, which they call moccasons, 
made of deer-skin, which they dress for that pur- 
pose. They are a generous, good-natured people ; 
very humane to strangers ; patient of want and 
pain ; slow to anger, and not easily provoked, but, 
when they are thoroughly incensed, they are im- 
placable ; very quick of apprehension and gay of 
temper. Their public conferences show them to 
be men of genius, and they have a natural elo- 
quence, they never having had the use of letters. 
They love eating, and the English have taught 



320 INDIAN CHARACTER. 

many of them to drink strong liquors, which, when 
they do, they are miserable sights. They have no 
manufactures but what each family makes for its 
own use ; they seem to despise working for hire, 
and spend their time chiefly in hunting and war ; 
but plant corn enough for the support of their fami- 
lies and the strangers that come to visit them. 
Their food, instead of bread, is flour of Indian corn 
boiled, and seasoned like hasty-pudding, and this 
called hommony. They also boil venison, and make 
broth ; they also roast, or rather broil their meat. 
The flesh they feed on is buffalo, deer, wild turkeys 
and other game ; so that hunting is necessary to 
provide flesh; and planting for corn. The land^ 
belongs to the women, and the corn that grows 
upon it ; but meat must be got by the men, because 
it is they only that hunt : this makes marriage neces- 
sary, that the women may furnish corn, and the men 
meat. They have also fruit-trees in their gardens, 
namely, peaches, nectarines, and locust, melons, 
and water-melons, potatoes, pumpkins, onions, &c. 
in plenty ; and many kinds of wild fruits, and 
nuts, as persimons, grapes, chinquepins, and hickory 
nuts, of which they make oil. The bees make 
their combs in the hollow trees, and the Indians 

' That is the homestead. 



ACCOUNT OF GEORGIA. 3^1 

find plenty of honey there, which they use instead 
of sugar. They make, what supplies the place of 
salt, of wood ashes ; use for seasoning, long- pepper, 
which grows in their gardens ; and bay-leaves sup- 
ply their want of spice. Their exercises are a 
kind of ball-playing, hunting, and running ; and 
they are very fond of dancing. Their music is a 
kind of drum, as also hollow cocoa-nut shells. They 
have a square in the middle of their towns, in which 
the warriors sit, converse, and smoke together ; but 
in rainy weather they meet in the King's house. 
They are a very healthy people, and have hardly 
any diseases, except those occasioned by the drink- 
ing of rum, and the small pox. Those who do not 
drink rum are exceedingly long-lived. Old Brim, 
emperor of the Creeks, who died but a few years 
ago, lived to one hundred and thirty years ; and he 
was neither blind nor bed-rid, till some months 
before his death. They have sometimes pleurisies 
and fevers, but no chronical distempers. They 
know of several herbs that have great virtues in 
physic, particularly for the cure of venomous bites 
and wounds. 

The native animals are, first the urus or zorax 
described by Caesar, which the English very igno- 
rantly and erroneously call the buffalo. They have 
deer, of several kinds, and plenty of roe-bucks and 

4] 



ACCOUNT OF GEORGIA. 

rabbits. There are bears and wolves, which are 
small and timorous ; and a brown wild-cat, without 
spots, which is very improperly called a tiger ; otter, 
beavers, foxes, and a species of badger which is 
called raccoon. There is great abundance of wild 
fowls, namely, wild-turkey, partridges, doves of 
various kinds, wild-geese, ducks, teals, cranes, 
herons of many kinds not known in Europe. There 
are great varieties of eagles and hawks, and great 
numbers of small birds, particularly the rice-bird, 
which is very like the ortolan. There are rattle- 
snakes, but not near so frequent as is generally re- 
ported. There are several species of snakes, some 
of which are not venomous. There are crocodiles, 
porpoises, sturgeon, mullet, cat-fish, bass, drum, 
devil-fish ; and many species of fresh-water fish 
that we have not in Europe ; and oysters upon the 
sea-islands in great abundance. 

What is most troublesome, there, are flies and 
gnats, which are very numerous near the rivers ; 
but, as the country is cleared, they disperse and go 
away. 

The vegetables are innumerable ; for all that 
grow in Europe, grow there ; and many that can- 
not stand in our winters thrive there. 



APPENDIX. 



This portion of the work contains additional notes, original 
documents, and notices of some of the distinguished friends 
of Oglethorpe. 



APPENDIX 



No. I. — Page 1. 

FAMILY OF OGLETHORPE. 

The following genealogical memoranda are taken princi- 
pally, from a note in Nichols's Literary Anecdotes of the 
Eighteenth Century, Vol. II. p. 17, on his having given the 
title of a book ascribed to the subject of the foregoing memoir. 

" This- truly respectable gentleman was the descendant of a 
family very anciently situated at Oglethorpe, in the parish of 
Bramham, in the West Riding of the County of York ; one of 
whom was actually Reeve of the County (an office nearly the 
same with that of the present, high-sheriff) at the time of the 
Norman Conquest. The ancient seat of Oglethorpe continued 
in the family till the Civil Wars, when it was lost for their 
loyalty ; and several of the same name died at once in the 
bed of honor in the defence of monarchy, in a battle near 
Oxford. 

" William Oglethorpe, (son of William) was born in 1588. 
He married Susanna, daughter of Sir William Sutton, Knight, 
and sister to Lord Lexington. He died in November, 1634 ; 



326 FAMILY OF OGLETHORPE. 

leaving two children, Sutton, born 1612, and Dorothy (who 
afterwards married the Marquis of Byron, a French nobleman,) 
born 1620. 

" Sutton Oglethorpe, being fined .£20,000 by the Parliament, 
his estates at Oglethorpe, and elsewhere, were sequestered, 
and afterwards given to General Fairfax, who sold them to 
Robert Benson of Bramham, father of Lord Bingley of that 
name. Sutton Oglethorpe had two sons, Sutton, and Sir 
Theophllus, Sutton was Stud-master to King Charles IL ; and 
had three sons, namely, Sutton, Page to King Charles IL ; 
John, Cornet of the Guards ; and Joseph, who died in India. 

" Sir Theophilus was born in 1652 ; and was bred to arms. 
He fought, under the Duke of Monmouth, in the affair at 
Bothwell bridge, where a tumultary insurrection of the Scots 
was suppressed, June 22, 1679. He commanded a party of 
horse at Sedgmoor fight, where the Duke was defeated, July 
6, 1685 ; and was Lieutenant Colonel to the Duke of York's 
troop of his Majesty's horse-guards, and Commissioner for 
executing the office of Master of the Horse to King Charles 
II. He was afterwards first Equerry and Major General of 
the army of King James II. ; and suffered banishment with 
his Royal Master." After his return to his native country he 
purchased a seat in the County of Surrey, called " the West- 
brook place," near adjoining the town of Godalming; a beau- 
tiful situation, in a fine country. It stands on the slope of a 
hill, at the foot of which are meadows watered by the river 
Wey. It commands the view of several hills, running in differ- 
ent directions ; their sides laid out in corn fields, interspersed 
with hanging woods. Behind it is a small park, well wooded ; 
and one side is a capacious garden fronting the south-east. 

Sir Theophilus was for several years a member of Parlia- 



FAMILY OF OGLETHORPE. 327 

ment for Haslemere, a small borough in the south-west angle 
of the county of Surrey. This place was, afterwards, in the 
reigns of Anne, George I., and George IL, successively repre- 
sented by his three sons, Lewis, Theophilus, and James. He 
died April 10, 1702, as appears by a pedigree in the collection 
of the late J. C. Brooke, Esq., though the following inscription 
in the parish church of St. James, Westminster, where he 
was buried, has a year earlier. — "Hie jacet Theophilus 
Oglethorpe, Eques auratus, ab atavo Vice-comite Eborum, 
Kormanno victore, ducens originem. Cujus armis ad pontem 
Bothwelliensem, succubuit Scotus - necnon Sedgmoriensi 
palude fusi Rebellos, Qui, per varies casus et rerum discrim- 
ina, magnanimum erga Principem et Patriam fidem, sed non 
temere, sustinuit. Obiit Londini anno 1701, setat. 50." 

Sir Theophilus married Eleanora Wall, of a respectable 
family in Ireland, by whom he had four sons and five daugh- 
ters ; namely, Lewis, Theophilus, Sutton, and James ; Elea- 
nora, Henrietta, Mary, and Frances-Charlotte. 

L Lewis, born February, 1680-1 ; admitted into Corpus 
Christi College, in the University of Oxford, March 16, 1698-9. 
He was Equerry to Queen Anne, and afterwards Aid-de-camp 
to the Duke of Marlborough; and, in 1702, member of Par- 
liament for Haslemere. Having been mortally wounded in 
the battle of Schellenburgh, on the 24th October, 1704, he 
died on the 30th. 

The following inscription to his memory is placed below 
that of Sir Theophilus. 

" Hujus claudit latus Lxjdovicus Oglethobpe, tarn paternse 
virtutis, quam fortunse, hseres ; qui, proelio Schellenbergensi 
victoria Hockstatensis preludio tempestivum suis inclinantibus 
ferens auxilium vulnere honestissima accepit, et prseclarse spe 
Indolis frustrata. — Ob. XXII eetatis, Anno Dom. 1704. 



328 FAMILY OF OGLETHORPE. 

" Charissimo utriusque marmor hoc, amantissima conjux et 
mater possuit, Domina Eleonora Oglethorpe." 

IL Theophilus, born 1682. He was Aid-de-camp to the 
Duke of Orraond ; and member of Parliament for Haslemere 
in 1708 and 1710. The time of his death is not recorded. 
He must have died young. 

IIL Eleonoka, born 1684; married the Marquis de Me- 
zieres on the 5th of March, 1707-8, and deceased June 28, 
1775, aged 91. The son of this lady was heir to the estate of 
General Oglethorpe. He is mentioned, in the correspondence 
of Mr; Jefferson, as highly meritorious and popular in France, 
(1785.) 

IV. Ann [mentioned in Shaftoe's narrative.] 

V. Sutton, born 1686 ; and. died in November, 1693. 

VI. Henrietta, [of whom we have no account.] 

VII. James, [see the next article.] 

VIII. Feances-Charlotte Married the Marquis de 

Bellegarde, a Savoyard.' To a son of this union is a letter of 
General Washington, dated January 15, 1790, in the 9th vol- 
ume of Sparks's Writings of Washington, p. 70. 

IX. Mary, who died single. 

The arms of the family are thus described : " Argent, a 
chevron, between three boar's heads, erased, sable armed, or, 
lingued proper." » 

Crest. " A boar's head, as before, holding an oaken 
branch, vert, fructed or." 

^ Gentleman's Magazine, Vol. LVII. p. 1123. 



BIRTH-DAY OF OGLETHORPE. 329 

II.— Page 2. 

DISCUSSION RESPECTING THE BIRTH-DAY OF OGLETHORPE. 

There are great difficulties in ascertaining the age of Ogle- 
thorpe. The newspapers, soon after his decease, in 1785, 
and the Gentleman's and London Magazine, contain several 
articles about it. 

While these inquiries, investigations, and statements were 
going the round of all the periodicals of the day, it is unac- 
countably strange that the family did not produce the desired 
rectification, and yet more surprising that in the inscription 
on the monument erected to his memory by his widow, and 
which was drawn up by her request, she should not have 
furnished the writer with the date of his birth, and the years 
of age to which he had arrived. 

The London Gazette, first announcing his death, stated it 
one hundred and four years. The Westminster Magazine for 
July 1785, (a periodical published in the very neighborhood of 
the old family mansion,) in the monthly notice of deaths, has, 
" June 30th, General Oglethorpe, aged 102. He was the 
oldest general in England." And I have a fine engraved 
portrait of him taken in February preceding his decease, on 
which is inscribed " he died 30th of June, 1785, aged 102." 
A writer in the Gentleman'^s Magazine for September, 1785, 
p. 701, who was one of the first emigrants to Georgia, and 
personally and intimately acquainted with the General, de- 
clares that " he lived to be near a hundred years old, but was 
not one hundred and two, as has been asserted." 

In the Biographical Memoir of him in the 8th volume of 
the European Magazine ; in Nichols's Anecdotes of Literature, 
and in McCall's History of Georgia, his birth is said to have 
42 



330 BIRTH-DAY OF OGLETHORPE. 

been in 1698 ; and yet it is asserted by the best authorities, 
that he bore the military rank of Ensign in 1710, when, ac- 
cording to their date of his nativity, he could have been but 
twelve years of age ; and this before his entering College at 
Oxford. 

Again, some make him Captain Lieutenant in the fir^t 
troop of the Queen's Guards in 1714 ; the same year that 
others put him to College. According to such statements, he 
must on both these military advancements, have been of an 
age quite too juvenile for military service., and more so for 
military rank. And yet, to account for his obtaining such 
early, and, indeed, immature promotion, the writers suggest 
that " he withdrew precipitately from the sphere of his edu- 
cation." But I see no reason for supposing that he left the 
University before he had completed the usual term of resi- 
dence for obtaining a degree ; though he did not obtain that 
of Master of Arts till the 31st of July, 1731.' 

Prior, in The Life of Goldsmith^ page 457, expressly says 
that Oglethorpe, " after being educated at Oxford, served un- 
Prince Eugene against the Turks." 

Again. Croker has a long note upon a passage in Bos- 
well's Life of Johnson, II. p.- 173, to invalidate a narative of 
Oglethorpe's respecting a writing of Colonel Sir Thomas Pren- 
dergast, who was killed at the battle of Malplaquet, on the 

^ See Catalogue of Oxford Graduates. 

* About this time he presented a manuscript French paraphrase 
of the Bible, in two folio volumes, finely illuminated, to the library 
of Corpus Christi College in Oxford. "The gift of James Ogle- 
thorpe, Esq., Member of Parliament." GxstcvCs Appendix to Wood''s 
History and Antiquities of the Colleges and Halls in the University of 
Oxford. 



BIRTH-DAY OF OGLETHORPE. 331 

31st' of August, 1709, which thus conchides : " At the battle 
of Malplaquet, Oglethorpe was only eleven years old. Is it 
likely that Oglethorpe, at the age of eleven years, was present 
at Pope's interview with Colonel Cecil ? And, even if he 
were, what credit is to be given to the recollections, after the 
lapse of sixty-three years, of what aJboy of eleven heard ? " ^ 
In reply to this, I would observe, that it is not even proba- 
ble, as this statement would imply, that the interview of Pope 
with Colonel Cecil was directly after the battle. There might 
have been intervening years. Moreover, Croker goes upon 
the presumption that the birth of Oglethorpe was in 1698. 
Now, to assign his birth to that year would make him only 
eighty-seven years old when he died ; but Dr. Lettsom, in " a 
letter on prisons," in the Gentleman''s Magazine, Vol. LXXI. 
p. 21, has this remark : " I spent an evening, which agreeably 
continued till two o'clock in the morning, with the late Gen- 
eral Oglethorpe, when this veteran was in the ninety-sixth 
year of his age ; who told me, that he planted Georgia chiefly 
from prisons." And Hannah More writes of being in compa- 
ny with him when he was much above ninety years of age. 
He was, therefore, born before 1698. And, finally, the record 
of his admission into Corpus Christi College, at Oxford, decides 
the matter beyond all controversy ; and, by certifying his age 
to be sixteen, proves that he was born in sixteen hundred and 
eighty-eight. For the month and day, I receive the testimony 
of William Stephens, Esq., Secretary for the affairs of the 
Trustees in Georgia, in the first volume of his Journal. On 
Thursday, December, 21st, [1738,] he makes this record. 

' Croker means that the time when Oglethorpe told the story to 
Dr. Johnson was sixty-three years after the battle of Malplaquet, 
when the event referred to took place. 



BIRTH-DAY OF OGLETHORPE. 

" Another heavy rain of all last night, and this whole day's 
continuance ; which, whatever impediments it might occasion 
to our other affairs, was no hindrance to our celebration of 
the General's birth-day, as had been always the custom hith- 
erto ; and in the very same manner as we did last year, under 
the discharge of cannon, &c." And McCall, who has named 
December 21st, says, " I am indebted to the Encyclopedia 
Perthensis', and to the Journal of a private gentleman in 
Georgia, where his birth-day was celebrated, for the date 
which I have inserted." > 

This assignment will tally with the other dates and their at- 
tendant circumstances ; allow time, with becoming propriety, 
for finishing his education at the University ; and show that 
he was not so precocious a soldier as has been represented, 
but that, instead of the juvenile age o^ eleven, he entered the 
army at the manly age of twenty-one. 

Memorandum. This attempt to ascertain the exact age of 
Oglethorpe, was written in 1837. I have, since then, received 
the following letter, dated London, October 2d, 1840. 

" My Dear Sir. "". 

In compliance with your request, I have been, this morning, 
to the vestry of St. James, Westminster, where I examined 
the record of Oglethorpe's baptism, of which the following is 
an exact copy in substance and form. 



Bapt. 
2. 



June 1689 
James Oglethorpe of Sir Theophilus and 
his lady Elinor, b. 1. 



I certify that the above is a true extract from the Eeg- 
^^ History of Georgia, Vol. I. p. 321. 



BIRTH-DAY OF OGLETHORPE. 333 

ister Book of Baptisms belonging to the Parish of St, James, 
Westminster. 

J. G. GiFFORD, Preacher and Assistant. 

" Hence it appears that Oglethorpe was born on XhQ first of 
June, 16S9, and baptized on the second. I was assured by 
Mr. Gifford that this is the true meaning of the record ; and 
I observed in the Register Book that other names were record- 
ed in like manner. There were several other baptisms the 
same day, with different days of birth. 

Most truly your friend and obedient servant, 

Jared Sparks." 

This will "be deemed decisive ; though to me not entirely 
satisfactory. I think I see cause for questioning the " b. 1.'* 
not their import., but their cdrrectness : occasioned either for 
family reasons, or that the date given at the font either was 
not distinctly heard by the officiating clergyman, or misre- 
membered at the time when the entry was made in the Book. 
Besides^ there would seem no occasion for the presentation so 
immediately after the birth ; for, according to custom, it is 
very unusual before the eighth day. On the other hand, from 
the statement of Nichols, Vol. II. p. 19, that of the children 
of Sir Theophilus, " the five eldest were born at St. James, 
London," we may infer that James, who was the sixth in the 
order of births in the family, was born at Godalming. This 
is proved, also, by Shaftoe's narrative, which mentions the 
going down of the mother to London, in consequence of the 
sickness and death of one of the nurslings. Now, though 
the main statement of that document may not be true, such 
an incidental circumstance as this, which has no direct bear- 
ing on "the vexed question," may be admitted. If, there- 



334 EARL OF PETERBOROUGH. 

fore, born at Godalming, he could not be taken to London, for 
baptism, on the day after Ms hirth. And, admitting that his 
nativity was on the 21st of December, the seasoii of the year 
alone would be sufficient reason for deferring the public cer- 
emony till after the inclement weather, and the opportunity 
favored for having it in the Parish Church, where all the other 
children had been baptized. 

After all, the fact that on the 7iinth of July, seventeen hun- 
dred and four, he was sixteen years old, as is testified on the 
Record of his admission into College, is incompatible with the 
date of June 1st, 1689, for the day of his birth, but consistent 
with that of December 21st, 1688. ' 

"To adjust all these discrepancies. respecting the time of his 
birth, and others of the time of his death, one needs the in- 
genuity of the Benedictins of St. Maur, who published a 4to 
volume with this title : " Uart de verifier les dates des fails 
Mstoriques.'''' ' , 

HI. — Page 4. 

Charles Mordaxjnt, Eat"! of Peterioroiigh. This great 
man died on his passage to Lisbon, 25th of October, 1735, 
aged 77. To bravery and heroism, he added a penetrating 
genius and a mind highly polished and well instructed in 
ancient and modern literature, as his Familiar Epistles, pre- 
served among those of his friend Pope, fully evince. 

Of Rev. George Berkeley, D. D., the celebrated Dean of 
Derry, and afterwards Bishop of Cloyne, I give the following 
particulars. 

His learning and virtues, his lively and agreeable con- 
versation, introduced him to the acquaintance, and procur- 
ed him the esteem and friendship of many great and 



DEAN BERKELEY. 335 

learned men, and anaong others the Earl of Peterborough, 
who made him his Chaplain, and took him as a compan- 
ion on a tour of Europe in 1714-15. Soon after his re- 
turn, the Dean published a proposal for the better supply- 
ing of the churches in the American Plantations with Cler- 
gymen, and for instructing and converting the savages to 
Christianity, by erecting a College in Bermuda. The first 
branch of this design appeared to him in the light of impor- 
tance ; but his principal view was to train up a competent 
number of young Indians, in succession, to be employed as 
missionaries among the various tribes of Indians. It appeared 
to be a matter of very material consequence, that persons 
should be employed in this service who were acquainted with 
the language necessary to be used ; and he had also a strong 
persuasion that such missionaries as he proposed would be 
much better received by the savages than those of European 
extraction. These Indian lads were to be obtained from the 
different tribes in the fairest manner, and to be fed, clothed 
and instructed at the expense of the Institution. 

The scheme, for some time, met with all the encourage- 
ment that was due to so benevolent a proposal. The King 
granted a charter ; and the Parliament voted a very consid- 
erable sum to be obtained from the sale of lands in St. Chris- 
tophers. Such a prospect of success in the favorite object of 
bis heart, drew from Berkeley some beautiful verses, " in 
which," a writer of the day remarks, " another age, perhaps, 
will acknowledge the old conjunction of the prophetic char- 
acter with that of the poetic, to have again taken place." 

In consequence of this encouragement, he resigned his rich 
Deanry ; and in execution of his noble design, embarked in 
the latter part of Autumn, 1728 ; his lady and her sister ac- 



336 DEAN BERKELEY. 

companying him ; and arrived at Newport, in Rhode Island, 
in February following. This situation he pitched upon with a 
view of settling a correspondence there for supplying his Col- 
lege. He purchased a country-seat and farm in the neigh- 
borhood, where he resided about two years and a half. His 
residence in this country had some influence on the progress 
of literature, particularly in Rhode Island and Connecticut. 
The presence and conversation of a man so illustrious for 
talents, learning, virtue, and social attractions, could not fail 
of giving a spring to the literary diligence and ambition of 
many who enjoyed his acquaintance. 

Finding, at length, that the promised aid of the ministry 
towards his College would fail him, he embarked at Boston in 
September 1731, on his return to England. At his departure 
he distributed the books which he had brought with him, 
among the Clergy of Rhode Island. He sent, as a gift to 
Yale College, a deed of his farm ; and afterwards made a 
present to its Library of about a thousand volumes. 

Immediately after his arrival in Londpn, he returned all the 
private subscriptions that had been advanced for the support 
of his undertaking. 

The fund, which had been calculated upon for his College, 
had been chiefly appropriated as a marriage portion of the 
Princess Ann, on her nuptials with the Prince of Orange. 
There remained, however, .£10,000, which General Ogle- 
thorpe had interest enough in Parliament to obtain for the 
purpose of carrying over and settling foreign and other Pro- 
testants in his new Colony of Georgia in America ; ^ " having 
first paid Dean Berkeley the compliment of asking his consent 

' See Journal of the House of Commons, May 10, 1733. 



DEAN BERKELEY. 337 

to the application for the money, before he moved for it in 
Parliament." 

He passed the latter part of his life at Oxford ; and deceased 
January 14th, 1753, aged 74. 

The character of this worthy prelate was expressed in few 
words by Bishop Atterbury, who, having heard much of him, 
wished to see him. Accordingly, he was one day introduced 
to him by the Earl of Berkeley. After some time, Mr. Berke- 
ley quitted the I'oom ; on which the Earl said to the Bishop, 
" Does my cousin answer your Lordship's expectations ? " 
The Bishop, lifting up his hands in astonishment, replied, 
" So much understanding, so much knowledge, so much inno- 
cence, and such humility, I did not think had been the portion 
of any but angels, till I saw this gentleman." 

Mr. Pope sums up Bishop Berkeley's character in one line. 
After mentioning some particular virtues that distinguished 
other Prelates, he ascribes 

"To Berkeley every virtue under heaven." 

I close these memoirs of the early companion, and conge- 
nial and lasting friend of Oglethorpe, with the verses referred 
to, written by him. , 



ON THE PROSPECT OF ARTS AND SCIENCES IN AMERICA. 

The muse, disgusted at an age and time, 

Barren of every glorious theme, 
In distant lands now waits a better clime, 

Producing subjects worthy fame. 
43 



338 BERKELEY'S POEM. 

In happy climes, where from the genial sun 
And virgin earth such scenes ensue, 

The force of art by nature seems outdone, 
And fancied beauties by the true : 

In happy climes, the seat of innocence, 
Where nature guides and virtue rules ; 

Where men shall not impose, for truth and sense, 
The pedantry of courts and schools : 

There shall be seen another golden age, 

The rise of empire and of arts ; 
The good and great inspiring epic page, 

The wisest heads and noblest hearts. 

Not such as Europe breeds in her decay, 
Such as she bred when fresh and young, 

When heavenly flame did animate her clay, 
By future ages shall be sung. 

Westward the course of empire takes its way, — 

The four first acts already past, 
A fifth shall close the drama with the day, — 

Time's noblest offspring is the last. 



IV. — Page. 10. 

REFEKENCE TO DEBATES IN THE BRITISH HOUSE OF COMMONS IN 
WHICH OGLETHORPE TOOK A PART. 

[See History and Proceedings of the House of Commons.] 

Against the banishment of Francis Atterbury, Bishop of 
.Rochester. April 6, 1723. 
On ecclesiastical benefices. 
On the preference of a militia to a standing army. 



SPEECHES IN PARLIAMENT. 339 

Plea in behalf of the persecuted Protestants in Germany. 
January, 1731-2. 

On the bill for the better securing and encouraging the trade 
of the sugar Colonies. January 28, 1732. 

On the petition of Sir Thomas Lombe relating to his silk- 
winding machine. . 

On the petition from the proprietors of the Charitable Cor- 
poration, complaining of the mismanagement of their directors, 
&c. February, 1732. 

On a second reading of the sugar colony bill. 

On the motion for an address of thanks in answer to the 
King's speech. January 27, 1734. [His speech fills more 
than three pages.] 

On the motion in the grand committee on the supply for 
granting thirty thousand men for the sea service for the year 
1735. February 7th, 1734-5. [This speech fills six pages 
and a half.] 

Against committing the bill for limiting the number of 
officers in the House of Commons. 

On Sir J. Barnard's motion for taking off such taxes as are 
burdensome to the poor and the manufacturers. 

Against the act for disabling Alexander Wilson, Esq., from 
the holding office, &c. 

On the petition, in 1747, of the United Brethren to have the 
Act for naturalizing foreigners in North America, extended 
to them and other settlers who made a scruple of performing 
military service. 

On another petition of the United Brethren presented 20th 
of February, 1749. 

[All the speeches in both Houses of Parliament oil each of 
these petitions, were printed in the Universal Magazine for 
the months of April and May, 1749.] 



340 PRISON-VISITING COMMITTEE. 

He spoke on other occasions, to have indicated which would 
have required more research than I could spare. 



v. — Page 11. 

PRISON-VISITING COMMITTEE. 

This committee consisted of the following gentlemen : 
James Oglethorpe, Esquire, Chairman, 
The Right Honorable the Lord Finch, 
The Right Honorable Lord Percival, 
Sir Robert Sutton, Knight of the Bath, 
Sir Robert Clifton, Knight of the Bath, 
Sir Abraham Elton, Baronet, 
Sir Gregory Page, Baronet, 
Sir Edmund Knatchbull, Baronet, 
Vultus Cornwall, Esquire, 
General Wade, 
Humphrey Parsons, Esquire, 
Captain Vernon, 
Robert Byng, Esquire, 
Judge Advocate Hughes. 

On Thursday, the 27th of February, they went to the Fleet 
prison to examine into the state of that gaol, in order for the 
relief of the insolvent debtors, &c., when the irons were 
ordered to be taken off Sir William Rich, Baronet. The next 
day, the same committee went a second time to the Fleet 
prison, where, upon complaint made to them that Sir William 
Rich was again put in irons, they made report thereof to the 
House of Commons, who thereupon ordered Mr. Bambridge, 
the warden of the Fleet, to be taken into the custody of their 
sergeant at arms. 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE. 341 

" On Thursday, the 20th of March, Mr. Oglethorpe from 
the committee appointed to inquire into the state of the gaols 
of this kingdom, made a Report of some progress they had 
made, with the Resolutions of the committee thereupon, and 
he read the Report in his place, and afterwards delivered the 
same (with two appendixes) in at the table, where the Report 
was read, and the resolutions of the committee being severally 
read a second time, were agreed to by the House, in substance 
as follows, viz, : 

" Resolved, nemine contradicente, that Thomas Bambridge, 
the acting Warden of the prison at the Fleet, hath wilfully 
permitted several debtors to the crown in great sums of money, 
as well as debtors to divers of his Majesty's subjects to escape ; 
hath been guilty of the most notorious breaches of his trust ; 
great extortions, and the highest crimes and misdemeanors in 
the execution of his said office ; and hath arbitrarily and un- 
lawfully loaded with irons, put into dungeons, and destroyed 
prisoners for debt under his charge, treating them in the most 
barbarous and cruel manner, in high violation and contempt 
of the laws of this kingdom : 

" Resolved, nemine contradicente, that John Higgins, Esq., 
late warden of the prison of the Fleet, did during the time of 
his wardenship, wilfully permit many in his custody to escape, 
and was notoriously guilty of great breaches of his trust, extor- 
tions, cruelties, and many other high crimes and misdemeanors, 
&c., &c. 

" And that James Barnes, William Pindar, John Everett, 
and Thomas King were agents of, and accomplices with the 
said Thomas Bambridge in the commission of his said crimes. 

" At the same time, upon a motion made by Mr. Oglethorpe, 
by direction of the committee, it was unanimously resolved to 
address his Majesty that he would be graciously pleased to 



342 THOMSON'S TRIBUTE. 

direct his Attorney General forthwith to prosecute, in the most 
effectual manner, the said Thomas Bambridge, John Higgins, 
James Barnes, WiUiam Pindar, John Everett, and Thomas 
King for their said crimes. 

" It was also ordered that the said Bambridge, Higgins, 
Barnes, Pindar, Everett, and King be committed close prison- 
ers in His Majesty's gaol of Newgate. 

" Then, upon Mr. Oglethorpe's motions, two bills were or- 
dered to be brought in, one to disable Thomas Bambridge from 
holding or executing the office of Warden of the Prison of the 
Fleet, or to have or exercise any authority relating therein. 
The other, for better regulating the prison of the Fleet, and 
for more effectually preventing and punishing arbitrary and 
illegal practices of the Warden of the said prison. 

" In the last place the Commons ordered the Report from the 
Committee relating to the Fleet prison to be printed." [N. B. 
The substance of this report is given in Boyer's Political State 
of Europe, Vol. XXXVII. p. 359 — 377.] 

The labors of Oglethorpe and his associates to correct prison 
abuses, were warmly acknowledged by their country, and were 
the grateful theme of the poet. They were alluded to by 
Thomson in the following strain : 

" And here can I forget the generous band 
Who, touched with human woe, redressive searched 
Into the horrors of the gloomy jail ? 
Where misery moans unpitied and unheard, 
Where sickness pines, where thirst and hunger burn, 

And poor misfortune feels the lash of vice ? 

« * * » * « « • 

Ye sons of mercy ! yet resume the search. 

Drag forth the legal monsters into light ; 

Wrench from their hands oppression's iron rod 

And bid the cruel feel the pains they give ! " 

iWinter,!. 359 — 388. 



RELEASE OF INSOLVENT DEBTORS. 343 

" The wretched condition of confined debtors, and the extor- 
tions and oppressions to which they were subjected by gaolers, 
thus came to be known to persons in high stations, and this 
excited the compassion of several gentlemen to think of some 
method of relieving the poor from that distress in which they 
were often involved without any fault of their own, but by 
some conduct which deserved pity rather than punishment." 



VL — Page 1L 

RELEASE TO INSOLVENT DEBTORS, FROM PRISON. 

In a very excellent publication entitled " Reasons for estab- 
lishing the Colony of Georgia, with regard to the trade of 
Great Britain, the increase of our people, and the employment 
and support it will afford to great numbers of our own poor, 
as well as foreign Protestants,'''' by Benjamin Martin, Esq. 
Loud. 1733 ; are some remarks in reference to the release of 
insolvent debtors from gaol, which I deem it proper to extract 
and annex here ; and the rather, because the work is exceed- 
ingly rare. 

After describing the deplorable condition of those who are 
in reduced circumstances, and need assistance and would be 
glad of employment, the writer refers to the situation of those 
who are thrown into prison for debt, and judges that the num- 
ber may be estimated at four thousand every year ; and that 
above one third part of the debts is never recovered hereby ; 
and then adds, "If half of these, or only five hundred of 
them, were to be sent to Georgia every year to be incorporated 
with those foreign Protestants who are expelled their own 
country for religion, what great improvements might not be 
expected in our trade, when those, as well as the foreigners. 



344 RELEASE OF INSOLVENT DEBTORS. 

would be so many new subjects gained by England ? For, 
while they are in prison, they are absolutely lost, — the public 
loses their labor, and their knowledge. If they take the bene- 
fit of the Act of Parliament that allows them liberty on the 
delivery of their all to their creditors, they come destitute into 
the world again. As they have no money and little credit, 
they find it almost impossible to get into business, especially 
when our trades are overstocked. They, therefore, by con- 
tracting new debts, must return again into prison, or, how 
honest soever their dispositions may be, by idleness and neces- 
sity will be forced into bad courses, such as begging, cheating, 
or robbing. These, then, likewise, are useless to the state ; 
not only so, but dangerous. But these (it will be said) may 
be serviceable by their labor in the country. To force them 
to it^ I am afraid, is impracticable ; to suppose they will volun- 
tarily do it, I am sure is unlikely. The Colony of Georgia 
will be a proper asylum for these. This will make the act of 
parliament of more effect. Here they will have the best 
motive for industry ; a possession of their own, and no possi- 
bility of subsisting without it. 

" I have heard it said that our prisons are the properest 
places for those that are thrown into them, by keeping them 
from being hurtful to others. Surely this way of thinking is 
something too severe. Are these people, with their liberty to 
lose our compassion .'' Are they to be shut up from our eyes, 
and excluded also from our hearts ? Many of very honest 
dispositions fall into decay, nay, perhaps, because they are so, 
because they cannot allow themselves that latitude which others 
take to be successful. The ways that lead to a man's ruin are 
various. Some are undone by overtrading, others by want of 
trade; many by being responsible for others. Do all these 



RELEASE OF INSOLVENT DEBTORS. 345 

deserve such hardship ? If a man sees a friend, a brother, a 
father going to a prison, where felons are to be his society, 
want and sickness his sure attendants, and death, in all likeli- 
hood his only, but quick relief; if he stretches out his hand 
to save him from immediate slavery and ruin, he runs the risk 
of his own liberty, and at last loses it ; is there any one who 
will say, this man is not an object of compassion ? Not so, 
but of esteem, and worth preserving for his virtue. But sup- 
posing that idleness and intemperance are the usual cause of 
his ruin. Are these crimes adequate to such a punishment as 
confinement for life .? But even yet granting that these unhappy 
people deserve no indulgence, it is certainly imprudent in any 
state to lose the benefit of the labor of so many thousands. 

But the public loss, by throwing men into prison, is not 
confined to them only. They have many of them wives and 
children. These are, also, involved in their ruin. Being des- 
titute of a support, they must perish, or else become a burden 
on their parishes by an inability to work, or a nuisance by 
their thefts. These, too, are useless to society. 

In short, all those who can work yet are supported in idle- 
ness by any mistaken charity, or are subsisted by their par- 
ishes, which are at this time, through all England overburdened 
by indolent and lazy poor, who claim and are designed only 
for impotent poor; — all those who add nothing by their labor 
to the welfare of the state, are useless, burdensome, or dan- 
gei'ous to it. What is to be done with these necessitous ? 
Nobody, I suppose, thinks that they should continue useless. 
It will be then an act of charity to these, and of merit to the 
public, for any one to propose, forward, and perfect a better 
expedient for making them useful. If he cannot, it is surely 
just to acquiesce, till a better be found, in the present design 
of settling them in Georgia." p. 16 — 2L 
44 



346 SIR THOMAS LOMBE'S MILL. 

VIL — Page16. 

SIR THOMAS LOMBE's MILL FOR WINDING SILK 

" In 1719, a silk-throwing mill was erected at Derby, and 
from that time to the beginning of the present century, vari- 
ous improvements were introduced. 

" The following account of the first silk mill erected in 
England will be interesting. At the commencement of the 
last century, a person of the name of Crochet erected a small 
mill near the present works, with the intention of introducing 
the Italian method of spinning into this country. About 1715, 
a similar plan was in the contemplation of a mechanic and 
draughtsman named John Lombe, who travelled into Italy to 
procure drawings and models of the machines necessary for 
the undertaking. After remaining some time in that country, 
and gaining as much information as the jealousy and precau- 
tions of the merchants of Italy would allow, he returned with 
two natives, accustomed to the manufacture, into this coun- 
try, and fixed upon Derby as a proper place to establish his 
works. He agreed with the corporation for an island, or 
rather, swamp, in the river, 500 feet long and 52 feet wide, at 
the rent of about £8 yearly. Here he established his silk 
mills, and in 1718 procured a patent to enable him to secure 
the profits for fourteen years. But Lombe did not live much 
longer ; for the Italians, exasperated at the injury done to their 
trade by its introduction into England, sent an artful woman 
over, who associated with the parties in the character of a 
friend, and, having gained over one of the natives who had 
originally accompanied Mr. Lombe, administered a poison to 
him, of which, it is said, he ultimately died. His death, how- 



SIR THOMAS LOMBE'S MILL. 347 

ever, did not prove fatal to his scheme ; for his brother, and 
afterv/ards his cousin, carried on the business with energy, 
and employed more than three hundred persons. A little be- 
fore the expiration of the Patent, Sir Thomas Lombe peti- 
tioned for a renewal of it ; but this was refused, and instead 
of it, ,^14,000 was granted him, on condition that he should 
allow a complete model of the works to be taken ; this was 
accordingly done, and afterwards deposited in the town for 
public inspection. 

" This extensive mill stands upon a huge pile of oak, double 
planked and covered with stone-work, on which are turned 
thirteen stone arches, which sustain the walls. 

" The spinning mills are eight in number, and give motion 
to upwards of 25,000 reel bobbins, and nearly 3000 star 
wheels belonging to the reels. Each of the four twist mills 
contains four rounds of spindles, about 389 of which are con- 
nected with each mill, as well as the numerous reels, bobbins, 
star wheels, &c. The whole of this elaborate machine, though 
distributed through so many apartmennts, is put in motion 
by a single water-wheel twenty-three feet in diameter, situ- 
ated on the west side of the building." 

[Treatise on the Manvfactures and Machinery of Great Britain, by 
P. Barlow, Esq., F, R. S., «!fcc., in the Encyclopedia Metropol. 
Part VI. " Mixed Sciences." 

" Sir Thomas Lombe, Alderman of Bassishaw Ward, died, 
at his house in Old Jury, London, on the third of January, 
1739, aged 8L A gentleman of great integrity and honor. 
He was the senior Alderman, next the chair. Worth .^120,- 
000 sterling." 



348 CASE OF CAPTAIN PORTEOUS. 

VIII. — Page 22. 

CASE OF CAPTAIN PORTEOUS. 

There is an account of the riot, and of all the particulars 
attending the murder of Captain Porteous, at the close of the 
9th volume of the History of the Proceedings of the House 
of Commons, from page 506 to 545 ; and a concise narrative 
in the History of England, by Lord Mahon, Vol. II. p. 285- 
298. He introduces it by the following remarks: " Some years 
back, the real events might have excited interest ; but the 
wand of an enchanter is now waved over us. We feel the 
spell of the greatest writer that the world has seen in one de- 
partment, or Scotland produced in any. How dull and lifeless 
will not the true facts appear when no longer embellished by 
the touching sorrows of Effie, or the heroic virtue of Jeanie 
Deans ! " He refers, in a note, to chapter VI. of The Heart 
of Mid Lothian, by Sir Walter Scott, and to " his excel- 
lent narrative " in the 2d series of the Tales of a Grand- 
father, from p. 231 to 242, the end of the volume. See also 
the able speech of Mr. Lindsay, in the Parliamentary Histo- 
ry, p. 254. 

It is worthy of remark that the Bill was carried in Com- 
mittee by the least possible majority. One hundred and 
thirty-one members voted for reporting the Bill as amended ; 
the same number voted against it. And, though it is custom- 
ary for the Chairman to give his vote on the side of mercy, 
he voted in favor of the Bill. It is further remarkable, that 
two Scots members, the Solicitor General, and Mr. Erskine 
of Grange, were then attending an appeal in the House of 
Lords, and were refused leave of absence in order to be at 
this discussion, otherwise the Bill would have been entirely 
lost. 



TRUSTEES FOR GEORGIA. 349 

IX. — Page 40. 

About the end of the month of August, 1732, Sir Gilbert 
Heathcote acquainted the court of directors of the Bank of 
England, that his Majesty had granted a charter for estab- 
lishing a regular colony in Georgia ; that the fund was to 
arise from charitable contributions which he recommended to 
them, shewing the great charity of the undertaking and the 
future benefit arising to England, by strengthening all the 
American Colonies, by increasing the trade and navigation of 
the kingdom, and by raising of raw silk, for which upwards 
of ,£500,000 a year was paid to Piedmont, and thereby giv- 
ing employment to thousands of tradesmen and working peo- 
ple. Then Sir Gilbert gave a handsome benefaction to the 
design, and his example was followed by the directors then 
present, and a great many others belonging to that opulent 
society ; and James Vernon, Robert Hucks, and George 
Heathcote, Esquires, paid into the Bank (the treasury for this 
use) £200 each for the charity, which was conducted by the 
following gentlemen as trustees : 

Anthony Earl of Shaftesbury, Francis Eyles,Esq. 

John Lord Viscount Purceval, John Laroche, Esq. 

John Lord Viscount Tyrconnel, James Vernon, Esq. 

James Lord Viscount Limerick, Stephen Hales, A. M. 

George Lord Carpenter, Richard Chandler, Esq. 

Edward Digby, Esq. Thomas Frederick, Esq. 

James Oglethorpe, Esq. Henry L'Apostre, Esq. 

George Heathcote, Esq. William Heathcote, Esq. 

Thomas Towers, Esq. John White, Esq. 

Robert Moore, Esq. Robert Kendal, Esq. 

Robert Hucks, Esq. Richard Bundy, D. D. 

William Sloper, Esq, 



350 OGLETHORPE'S DISINTERESTEDNESS. 

Collections were made all over England, and large sums 
raised, and the Parliament gave .£10,000, which enabled the 
trustees to entertain many poor people that offered, and to 
rfiake provision for their transportation and maintenance till 
they could provide for themselves. [Oldmixon, I. p. 526. 

" Those who direct this charity have, by their own choice, 
in the most open and disinterested manner, made it impos- 
sible for any one ahiong them to receive any advantage from 
it, besides the consciousness of making others happy. Vol- 
untary and unpaid directors carry on their designs with honor 
and success. Such an association of men of leisure and for- 
tune to do good, is the glory and praise of our country." 

[Sermon before the trustees for establishing the colony of Georgia, 
by Thomas RuNDLE, D. J)., Bishop of Londonderry, Ireland. 
Lond. 1734, page 16. 

X.— Page 47. 

Oglethorpe's disinterestedness in the undertaking^ 

As Oglethorpe's going along with this new Colony proceed- 
ed merely from his public spirit, and from a disinterested and 
generous view of contributing all that was in his power, to- 
wards the benefit of his country, and the relief of his dis- 
tressed countrymen, it met with just and deserved applause. 
In one of the public prints of the day the following enco- 
mium was inserted. 

" Whether it is owing to an affectation of being thought 
conversant with the ancients, or the narrowness of our minds, 
I know not, but we often pass over those actions in our con- 
temporaries which would strike us with admiration in a Greek 
or a Roman. Their histories perhaps cannot produce a greater 
instance of public spirit than what appeared in an evening 



OGLETHORPE'S DISINTERESTEDNESS. 35I 

paper of Saturday, the 18th instant, that ' James Oglethorpe, 
Esq., one of the Trustees for estabUshing the Colony of 
Georgia, is gone over with the first embarkation at his own 
expense.' To see a gentleman of his rank and fortune visit- 
ing a distant and uncultivated land, with no other society but 
the miserable whom he goes to assist ; exposing himself freely 
to the same hardships to which they are subjected, in the 
prime of life, instead of pursuing his pleasures or ambition ; 
on an improved and well concerted plan, from which his 
country must reap the profits ; at his own expense, and with- 
out a view, or even a possibility of receiving any private ad- 
vantage from it ; this too, after having done and expended for 
it what many generous men would think suiSicient to have 
done ; — to see this, I say, must give every one who has ap- 
proved and contributed to the undertaking, the highest satis- 
faction ; must convince the world of the disinterested zeal 
with which the settlement is to be made, and entitle him to 
the truest honor he can gain, the perpetual love and applause 
of mankind. 

" With how just an esteem do we look back on Sir Walter 
Raleigh for the expeditions which he made so beneficial to his 
country ! And shall we refuse the same justice to the living 
which we pay to the dead, when by it we can raise a proper 
emulation in men of capacity, and divert them from those 
idle or selfish pursuits in which they are too generally en- 
gaged ? How amiable is humanity when accompanied with 
so much industry! What an honor is such a man ! How 
happy must he be ! The benevolent man, says Epicurus, is 
like a river, which, if it had a rational soul, must have the 
highest delight to see so many corn fields and pastures flour- 
ish and smile, as it were, with plenty and verdure, arid all by 



352 GOVERNOR JOHNSON'S ADVERTISEMENT. 

the overflowing of its bounty and diffusion of its streams upon 
them. 

" I should not have written so much of this Gentleman,- had 
he been present to read it. I hope to see every man as wartti 
in praising him as I am, and as hearty to encourage the de- 
sign he is promoting as I really think it deserves ; a design 
that sets charity on a right foot, by relieving the indigent and 
unfortunate, and making them useful at the same time." ' 

XI. — Page 56. 

On the 13th of January, 1732-3, the Governor of South 
Carolina published in their Gazette the following advertise- 
ment. 

" Whereas 1 have lately received a power from the Trus- 
tees for establishing a Colony in that part of Carolina between 
the rivers Alatamaha and Savannah, now granted by his Ma- 
jesty's Charter to the said Trustees, by the name of the Pro- 
vince of Georgia, authorizing me to take and receive all such 
voluntary contributions as any of his Majesty's good subjects 
of this Province ' shall voluntarily contribute towards so good 
and charitable a work, as the relieving poor and insolvent 
debtors, and settling, establishing, and assisting any poor Pro- 
testants of what nation soever, as shall be willing to settle in 
the said Colony ; and whereas the said intended settlement 
will, in all human appearance, be a great strengthening and 
security to this Province, as well as a charitable and pious 
work, and worthy to be encouraged and promoted by all pious 
and good Christians ; I have, therefore, thought fit to publish 

^ Transcribed into the Political State of Great Britain, for Feb- 
ruary, 1733, Vol. XLV. p. 181. 



GOVERNOR AND COUNCIL'S LETTER. 353 

and make known to all such pious and well disposed persons 
as are willing to promote so good a work, that 1 have ordered 
and directed Mr. Jesse Badenhop to receive all such subscrip- 
tions or sums of money as shall be by them subscribed or paid 
in for the uses and purposes aforesaid ; which sums of money 
(be they great or small,) I promise them shall be faithfully 
remitted to the Trustees by the aforesaid charter appointed, 
together •wkh. the names of the subscribers, which will by 
them be published every year ; or, (if they desire their names 
to be kept secret) the names of the persons by whom they 
make the said subscriptions. 

The piety and charity of so good an undertaking, I hope 
will be a sufficient inducement to every person to contribute 
something to a work so acceptable to God, as well as so ad- 
vantageous to this Province. 

R. Johnson. 

A Copy of the Letter of the Governor and Council of South 
Carolina, to Mr. Oglethorpe. 

Sir — We cannot omit the first opportunity of congratu- 
lating you on your safe arrival in this province, wishing you 
all imaginable success in your charitable and generous under- 
taking ; in which we beg leave to assure you that any assist- 
ance we can give shall not be wanting in the promotion of 
the same. 

The General Assembly having come to the Resolutions in- 
closed, we hope you will accept it as an instance of our sin- 
cere intentions to forward so good a work ; and of our attach- 
ment to a person who has at all times so generously used his 
endeavors to relieve the poor, and deliver them out- of their 
distress ; in which you have hitherto been so successful, that 
45 ' ' ' , 



354 ASSEMBLY'S RESOLUTIONS. 

we are persuaded this undertaking cannot fail under your pru- 
dent conduct, which we most heartily wish for. 

The rangers and scout-boats are ordered to attend you as 
soon as possible. 

Colonel Bull, a gentleman of this Board, and who we es- 
teem most capable to assist you in the settling of your new 
Colony, is desired to deliver you this, and to accompany you, 
and render you the best services he is capable of ; and is one 
whose integrity you may very much depend on. 

We are, with the greatest respect and esteem. Sir, your 
most obedient humble servants. 

Robert Johnson, 
Thomas Broughton, 
Al. Middleton, 
A. Skeene, 
Fra. Younge, 
Jabies Kinlock, 
John Fenwicke, 
Thomas Waring, 
J. Hammerton. 
Council Chamber, 26 January, 1733. 

Copy of the Assembly''s Resolutions. 

The Committee of his Majesty's Honorable Council ap- 
pointed to confer with a Committee of the lower House on 
his Excellency's message relating to the arrival of the Hon- 
orable James Oglethorpe, Esq., report — 

That agreeable to his Majesty's instructions to his Excellen- 
cy, sent down together with the said message, we are unani- 
mously of opinion that all due countenance and encour- 
agement ought to be given to the settling of the Colony of 
Georgia. 



ASSEMBLY'S RESOLUTIONS. 355 

And for that end your Committee apprehend it necessary 
that his Excellency be desired to give orders and directions 
that Captain McPherson, together with fifteen of the rangers, 
do forthwith repair to the new settlement of Georgia, to cover 
and protect Mr. Oglethorpe, and those under his care, from 
any insult that may be offered them by the Indians, and that 
they continue and abide there till, the new settlers have en- 
forted themselves, and for such further time as his Excellency 
may think necessary. 

That the Lieutenant and four men of the Apalachicola 
Garrison be ordered to march to the fort on Cambahee, to join 
those of the rangers that remain ; and that the Commissary be 
ordered to find them with provision as usual. 

That his Excellency will please to give directions that the 
scout-boat at Port Royal do attend the new settlers as often 
as his Excellency shall see occasion. 

That a present be given Mr. Oglethorpe for the new set- 
tlers of Georgia forthwith, of an hundred head of breeding 
cattle and five bulls, as also twenty breeding sows and four 
boars, with, twenty barrels of good and merchantable rice; 
the whole to be delivered at the charge of the public, at such 
place in Georgia as Mr. Oglethorpe shall appoint. 

That periauguas be provided at the charge of the public to 
attend Mr. Oglethorpe at Port Royal, in order to carry the 
new settlers, arrived in the ship Anne, to Georgia, v^^ith their 
effects, and the artillery and ammunition now on board. 

That Colonel Bull be desired to go to Georgia with the 
Honorable James Oglethorpe, Esq., to aid him with his best 
advice and assistance in settling the place. 



S56 LETTER FROM GOVERNOR JOHNSON. 

Extract of a Letter from His Excellency Roiert Johnson, 
Esq., Governor of South Carolina, to Benjamin Martyn, 
Esq., Secretary to the Trustees, ^c. 

Charlestown, Feb. 12, 1733. 

Sir — I have received the favor of yours, dated the 20th of 
October, and the duplicate of the 24th. I beg you will assure 
the Honorable Trustees of my humble respects, and that I 
will attach myself to render them and their laudable under- 
taking all the service in my power. 

Mr. Oglethorpe arrived here with his people in good health 
the 13th of January. 1 ordered him a pilot, and in ten hours 
he proceeded to Port Royal, where he arrived safe the 19th, 
and I understand from thence, that, after refreshing his people 
a little in our barracks, he, with all expedition, proceeded to 
Yamacraw, upon Savannah River, about twelve miles from 
the sea, where he designs to fix those he has brought with 
him. 

I do assure you, that upon the first news I had of this em- 
barkation, I was not wanting in giving the necessary orders 
for their reception ; and, being assisted at Port Royal, (al- 
though they were here almost as soon as we heard of their 
design of coming,) not knowing whether Mr. Oglethorpe de- 
signed directly there, or would touch here. 

I am informed he is mighty well satisfied with his reception 
there^ and likes the country ; and that he says things succeed 
beyond his expectation ; but I have not yet received a letter 
from him since his being at Port Royal. 

Our General Assembly meeting three days after his de- 
parture, I moved to them their assisting this generous under- 



LETTER CONTINUED. ■ 357 

taking. Both Houses immediately came to the following reso- 
lution ; that Mr. Oglethorpe should be furnished at the public 
expense, with one hundred and four breeding cattle, twenty- 
five hogs, and twenty barrels of good rice ; that boats should 
also be provided at the public charge to transport the people, 
provisions and goods, from Port Royal to the place where he 
designed to settle ; that the scout-boats, and fifteen of our 
rangers, (who are horsemen, and always kept in pay to dis- 
cover the motions of the Indians,) should attend to Mr. Ogle- 
thorpe, and obey his commands, in order to protect the new 
settlers from any insults, which I think there is no danger of; 
and I have given the necessary advice and instructions to our 
out garrisons, and the Indians in friendship with us, that they 
may befriend and assist them. 

I have likewise prevailed on Colonel Bull, a member of the 
Council, and a gentleman of great probity and experience in 
the affairs of this Province, the nature of land, and tlie method 
of settling, and who is well acquainted with the manner of 
the Indians, to attend Mr. Oglethorpe to Georgia with our 
compliments, and to offer him advice and assistance ; and, 
had not our Assembly been sitting, I would have gone myself. 

I received the Trustees commission ; for the honor of which 
I beg you will thank them. I heartily wish all imaginable 
success to this good work ; and am. Sir, 

Your most humble Servant, 

Robert Johnson. 

P. S. Since writing the above, I have had the pleasure of 
hearing from Mr. Oglethorpe, who gives me an account that 
his undertaking goes on very successfully. 



358 INDIANS IN GEORGIA. 

XTL— Page68. 

Creeks, so called by the English, because their country 
lies chiefly among rivers, which the American English call 
" creeks ; " but the real name is Musogees. Their language 
is the softest and most copious of all the Indians, and is looked 
upon to be the radical language ; for they can make them- 
selves understood by almost all the other -Indians on the Con- 
tinent. They are divided into three people. Upper, Lower, 
and Middle Creeks. The two former governed by their re- 
spective chiefs, whom they honor with a royal denomination ; 
yet they are, in the most material part of their government, 
subordinate to the Chief of the latter, who bears an imperial 
title. Their country lies between Spanish Florida and the 
Cherokee mountains, and from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf 
of Mexico. They are a tall, well-limbed people, very brave 
in war, and as much respected in the South, as the Iroquois 
are in the North part of America- 

\History of the British Settlements in North America, Lond. 1773, 

4to, p. 156. Adair, 257. Barton's Views, «&.c., Introduction 

XLIV. and Appendix 9. 

XIII. — Page 72. 

ACCOUNT OF THE INDIANS IN GEORGIA, BEING PART OF A LETTER 
FROM OGLETHORPE, DATED 9tH JUNE, 1733. 

There seems to be a door opened to our Colony towards 
the conversion of the Indians. I have had many conversa- 
tions with their chief men, the whole tenor of which shews 
that there is nothing wanting to their conversion but one who 
understands their language well, to explain to them the mys- 
teries of religion ; for, as to the moral part of Christianity, 



OGLETHORPE'S ACCOUNT OF INDIANS. 359 

they understand it, and do assent to it. They abhor adultery, 
and do not approve of a plurality of wives. Theft is a thing 
not known among the Creek Indians ; though frequent, and 
even honorable among the Uchecs. Murder they look on as 
a most abominable crime : but do not esteem the killing of an 
enemy, or one that has injured them, murder. The passion 
of revenge, which they call honor, and drunkenness, which 
they learn from our traders, seem to be the two greatest ob- 
stacles to their being truly Christians : but, upon both these 
points they hear reason ; and with respect to drinking rum, 
I have weaned those near me a good deal from it. As for 
revenge, they say, as they have no executive power of justice 
amongst them, they are forced to kill the man who has injured 
them, in order to prevent others doing the like ; but they do 
not think any injury, except adultery, or murder, deserves re- 
venge. They hold that if a man commits adultery, the in- 
jured husband is obliged to have revenge, by cutting off the 
ears of the adulterer, which, if he is too strong or sturdy to 
submit to, then the injured husband kills him the first oppor^ 
tunity he has to do it with safety. In cases of murder, the 
next in blood is obliged to kill the murderer, or else he is 
looked on as infamous in the nation where he lives ; and the 
weakness of the executive power is such, that there is no other 
way of punishment but by the revenger of blood, as the Scrip- 
ture calls it ; for there is no coercive power in any of their 
nations ; their kings can do no more than to persuade. All 
the power they have is no more than to call their old men 
and captains together, and to propound to them the measures 
they think proper; and, after they have done speaking, all 
the others have liberty to give their opinions also ; and they 
reason together with great temper and modesty, till they have 



• 



SQO ACCOUNT OF INDIANS. 

brought each other into some unanimous resolution. Then 
they call in the young men, and recommend to them the put- 
ting in execution the resolution, with their strongest and most 
■lively eloquence. And, indeed, they seem to me, both in 
action and expression, to be thorough masters of true elo- 
quence. In speaking to their young men, they generally 
address the passions. In speaking to the old men, they apply 
to reason only. [He then states the interview with the 
Creeks, and gives the first set speech of Tomo Chichi, which 
has been quoted.] One of the Indians of the Cherokee nation, 
being come down, the Governor told him that " he need fear 
nothing; but might speak freely," answered smartly, " I 
always speak freely, what should I fear ? I am now among 
friends, and I never feared even among my enemies." Another 
instance of their short manner of speaking was when I order- 
ed one of the Carolina boatmen, who was drunk and had 
beaten an Indian, to be tied to a gun till he was sober, in or- 
der to be whipped. Tomo Chichi came to me to beg me to 
pardon him, which I refused to do unless the Indian who had 
been beaten should also desire the pardon for him. Tomo 
Chichi desired him to do so, but he insisted upon satisfaction. 
Tomo Chichi said, " O Fonseka," ( for that was his nantie,) 
" this Englishman, being drunk, has beat you ; if he is whip- 
ped for so doing, the Englishmen will expect that, if an In- 
dian should insult them when drunk, the Indian should be 
whipped for it. When you are drunk, you are quarrelsome, 
and you know you love to be drunk, but you don't love to be 
whipped." Fonseka was convinced, and begged me to par- 
don, the man ; which, as soon as I granted, Tomo Chichi and 
Fonseka ran and untied him, which I perceived was done to 
show that he owed his safety to their intercession. 



DUKE OF ARGYLE. 361 

XIV. — Page 73. 

DUKE OF ARGYLE A PATRON OF OGLETHORPE. 

" From his boyhood Oglethorpe uniformly enjoyed the 
friendship and confidence of his gallant and eloquent country- 
man, John Duke of Argyle ; who, in an animated speech in 
Parliament, bore splendid testimony to his military talents, his 
natural generosity, his contempt of danger, and his devotion 
to the public weal." * 

This favorable opinion, acquired in military campaigns, 
where his soldierly accomplishments and personal bravery 
had attracted the notice and won the admiration of the com- 
manding officers, was preserved in after scenes, and confirmed 
by the principles which they both maintained, and the mea- 
sures they alike pursued in Parliament. 

The Duke also early devoted himself to a military life, 
and served ander the great Marlborough. He distiiaiguished 
himself at the battles of Ramilies, of Oudenarde, and Mal- 
plaquet, and assisted at the siege of Lisle and of Ghent. 
Such services were honorably rewarded by the King, who 
made him Knight of the Garter in 1710, and the following 
year sent him ambassador to Charles III. of Spain, with the 
command of the English forces in that kingdom. His support 
of the union with Scotland, rendered him for awhile unpopular 
with his countrymen, but his merits were acknowledged by all 
parties. George I. on his accession, restored him to the com- 
mand of Scotland, of which he had before been capriciously 
deprived ; and, in 1715, he bravely attacked Lord Mar's army 
at Dumblane, and obliged the Pretender to retire from the 
kingdom. In 1718 he was made Duke of Greenwich. 

' Verplank's Discourse before the New York Historical Society, p. 33. 
46 



362 SALTZBURGERS. 

He died in 1743, and was buried in Westminster Abbey, 
where a handsome monument records his virtues. 

The following couplet by Pope immortalizes his fame. 

" Argyle, the state's whole thunder born to wield, 
And shake alike the senate and the field." 

He had the honor, also, to be celebrated in very high terms 
by Thobison ; 

" full on thee, Argyle, 

Her hope, her stay, her darling and her boast. 
From her first patriots and her heroes sprung, 
Thy fond imploring country turns her eye ; 
In thee, with all a motlier's triumph, sees 
Her every virtue, every grace, combined. 
Her genius, wisdom, her engag-ing turn, 
Her pride of honor, arid her courage tried, 
Calm and intrepid, in the very throat 
Of sulphurous war, on Tenier's dreadful field. 
Nor less the palm of peace inwreathes thy brow ; 
For, powerful as thy sword, from thy rich tongue 
Persuasion flows, and wins the high debate ; 
While, mix'd in thee, combine the charm of youth. 
The force of manhood, and the depth of age.'" 

[Mturrin, 1.926 — Ml. 

XV. — Page 82. 

HISTORICAL REFERENCES TO THE SETTLEMENT OF THE SALTZ- 
BURGERS IN GEORGIA. 

Nachricht von dem establishment derer Salzburgischenemi- 
granten zu Eienezer, en der Proiiinz Georgien in Nord-Amer- 
ica, &c. Von P. G. F. Von Reck. Halle 1774. From this, 
and a subsequent Journal of the same author, -was published a 
very interesting little work, by the direction of the Society for 



11 



SALTZBURGERS. QQ$ 

pronioting Christian knoioledge, entitled " An extract of the 
Journals of Mr. Commissary Von Reck, who conducted the 
first transport of Saltzburgers to Georgia ; and of the Rev- 
erend Mr. BoLzius, one of their Ministers.''^ London, 1734. 
12mo. 

A circumstantial account of the settlement and of the affairs 
of these emigrants is given in a work which bears this title, 
" Ausfiirliche Nacrichten von den Sahburgischen Emigranten^ 
die sich in America nied.ergelassen hahen, loorinnen die Riese- 
diaria des Iconigl. Grosshritannisclien Co^nmissarii und der 
hey den Salzburgischen Prediger, wie auch eine Beschreiiutig von 
Georgien enthaUen. Heraus gegehen von Samuel Urlsperger." 
Halle, 1785-52. This journal of the proceedings of the Saltz- 
burg emigrants, Vvho formed the settlement of Ebenezer in 
Georgia, was continued from year to year, from 1734 to 1760 ; 
in several parts, which, bound up, make five thick quarto 
volumes. In. Professor Ebeling's copy, now in the library of 
Harvard College, is the continuation, in manuscript, [perhaps 
the original,] and which was never printed, by John Martin 
BoLzius, dated January, 1765. There is, also, a separate 
work, entitled Americanisches Ackentverck Gottes, von Samuel 
Urlsperger. Augs. 1745 — 1760. 4to. 4 vol. 

A most interesting account of the persecution is to be found 
in two thin quarto volumes by J. M. Teubener, entitled His- 
iorie derer Emigranten oder Vertriebenen Lutheraner aus dem 
Ertz-Bissthum Saltzburg. 2 vols. 4to. Leipz. 1732. . 

" About twenty-five thousand persons, a tenth part of the 
population, migrated on this occasion. Their property was 
sold for them, under the King of Prussia's protection ; some 
injustice, and considerable loss must needs have been suffered 
by such a sale, and the chancellor, by whom this strong meas- 



364 SALTZBURGERS. 

ure was carried into effect, is accused of having enriched 
himself by the transaction. Seventeen thousand of the emi- 
grants settled in the Prussian states. Their march will long 
be remembered in Germany. The Catholic magistrates at 
Augsburgh shut the gates against them, but the Protestants in 
the city prevailed, and lodged them in their houses. The 
Count of Stolberg Warnegerode gave a dinner to about nine 
hundred in his palace ; they were also liberally entertained 
and relieved by the Duke of Brunswick. At Leipsic the 
clergy met them at the gates, and entered with them in pro- 
cession, singing one of Luther's hymns ; the magistrates 
quartered them upon the inhabitants, and a collection was 
made for them in the church, several merchants subscribing 
liberally. The university of Wittenberg went out to meet 
them, with the Eector at their head, and collections were 
made from house to house. " We thought it an honor," says 
one of the Professors, " to receive our poor guests in that 
city where Luther first preached the doctrines for which they 
were obliged to abandon their native homes." These demon- 
strations of the popular feeling render it more than probable 
that if a religious war had then been allowed to begin in 
Saltzburg, it would have spread throughout all Germany. 

" Thirty-three thousand pounds were raised in London for the 
relief of the Saltzburgers. Many of them settled in Georgia, 
— colonists of the best description. They called their settle- 
ment Ebenezer. Whitfield, in 1738, was wonderfully pleased 
with their order and industry. " Their lands," he says, " are 
improved surprisingly for the time they have been there, and 
I believe they have far the best crop of any in the colony. 
They are blest with two such pious ministers as I have not 
often seen. They have no courts of judicature, but all little 



SALTZBURGERS. 365 

differences are immediately and implicitly decided by their 
ministers, whom they look upon and love as their fathers. 
They have likewise an orphan house, in which are seventeen 
children and one widow, and I was much delighted to see the 
regularity wherewith it is managed." Southey's Life of 
Wesley, Vol. I. p. 98, note. 

XVI. — Page 82. 

With reference to these persecuted exiles, are the following 
lines of Thomson. 

" Lo ! swarming southward on rejoicing suns 
New colonies extend ! the calm retreat 
Of undeserved distress, the better home 
Of those whom bigots chase from foreign lands ; 
Such as of late an Oglethorpe has formed, 
And crowding round, the pleased Savannah sees." 

[Liberty, Part V. 

I give, also, an extract from the London Journal of the 
day. 

" As the Trustees for settling Georgia are giving all proper 
encouragement for the Saltzburg emigrants to go over and 
settle there, some of the managers for those poor people have 
sent over to the Trustees from Holland, a curious medal or 
device, enchased on silver, representing the emigration of the 
poor Saltzburgers from their native country, which opens like 
a box, and in the inside contains a map of their country, 
divided into seventeen districts, with seventeen little pieces of 
historical painting, representing the seventeen persecutions of 
the primitive Christians ; the whole being folded up in a very 
mall compass, and is a most ingenious piece of workmanship." 



366 MORAVIANS IN GEORGIA. 

XVII.— Page 130. 

SETTLEMENT OF THE MORAVIANS IN GEORGIA. 

" In consequence of the oppression which they suffered in 
Efohemia, the United Brethren, or, as they are more commonly 
called, the Moravians, resolved to emigrate to the new Colony 
of Georgia in America, whither the Saltzburgers had recently 
gone. With this purpose they applied to Count Zinzendorf, 
their spiritual guide, for his concurrence and assistance. Ac- 
cordingly, he made interest with the Trustees on their behalf, 
which, being favorably received, and a free passage offered, a 
small company of them set out from Herrnfurt in November, 
1734. They proceeded to London, where they found Mr. 
Spangenberg, who had nearly concluded every thing relative 
to their embarkation, with the Trustees, and to their accom- 
modation and settlement, with General Oglethorpe. A num- 
ber of Saltzburgers were also about to emigrate ; and three 
zealous ministers of the Church of England, Mr. John Wes- 
ley, together with his brother Charles, and Mr. Benjamin 
Ingham, went with them in the same ship. 

" They arrived at Savannah in the spring of 1735 ; and, in 
the following summer received a considerable increase of 
brethren, conducted by David Nitchmann, senior. 

" The Saltzburgers went further up the river, and selected 
a place of settlement, which they called Ebenezer, but the 
Brethren began immediately their settlement near to Savan- 
nah ; and God so blessed their industry, that they were not 
only soon in a capacity of maintaining themselves, but, also, 
■of being serviceable to their neighbors. Having had assist- 
ance in the erection of a school-house for the children of the 
Indians, Tomo Tschatschi, their King, came to see it, and 



MORAVIANS IN GEORGIA. 367 

was glad that they might have a place where, a^s he expressed 
it, they could hear the good loord. Consequently the Colony 
of the Brethren presented a fair prospect, both with respect 
to the settlement itself, and the instruction and conversion of 
the Heathen. But, being among the rest summoned to take 
up arms in defence of the country, and to march against the 
Spaniards, they refused it, as being no freeholders, and, of 
consequence, not obliged to it according to the laws of the 
Colony ; nay, before coming over, they had expressly stated 
that they were not willing to perform any military service. 
Count Zinzendorf, on his visit to London, in January, 1737, 
took occasion to become acquainted with General Oglethorpe 
and the Trustees of Georgia, with whom he entered into a 
conference relative to the situation of the Moravian Brethren 
there. He remonstrated against their being called on to enlist 
as soldiers ; and the Trustees readily exempted them from 
such a liability. But as this exemption embittered the minds 
of the people against them, some of the Brethren in 1738 left 
all their flourishing plantations, having repaid all the money 
which had been advanced towards their passage and settle- 
ment, and went to Pennsylvania. The rest were left undis- 
turbed for awhile ; but in 1739, when the troubles of war 
broke out afresh, being again molested on account of military 
service, they followed their brethren in the spring of 1740, and 
afterwards began the colonies of Bethlehem and Nazareth." 
Cka.nz's, History of the United Brethren, p. 193, 213 and 229. 

XVIIL — Page 135. 

SCOUT-BOAT. 

1. This was a strong built ten-oared boat, bearing three 
swivel guns, kept for exploring the river passages, visiting the 



368 SCOUT-BOAT, AND CHANNELS. 

islands, and for preventing the incursions of enemies, and 
repelling the predatory attempts of runaway slaves who 
sometimes lurked round and infested the coast. The crew 
was composed of bold and hardy South Carolinians, who lie 
out in the woods or in the open boat, for months together. 
Most of them are good hunters and fishers ; and by killing 
deer and other game, subsist themselves, when the packed 
stores fail. 

2. " Channels,'''' as they are called, are water courses be- 
tween the main-land and the islands ; in some places above a 
mile wide, in others, not above two hundred yards. These 
sometimes open into what are called " sounds,^'' which are 
gulfs of the sea, that extend into the land and entrances of 
rivers. 

XIX.— Page 150. 

The Uchee Indians had a village not far from Ebenezer, 
at the time of the settlement of Georgia ; but their principal 
town was at Chota, on the western branch of the Chattahoo- 
chee, or, as it was more properly spelt, Chota-TJchee river. 
How long they had resided there we do not know. As their 
language is a dialect of the Shawanees, it has been supposed 
that they were descendants from that tribe. A jealousy ex- 
isted between them and the Muscogees ; but they were in 
amity with the Creeks, though they would not mix with them. 
How numerous they were at the time of their treaty with 
Oglethorpe, cannot nov/ be ascertained. 

In 1773 they lived on a beautiful plain of great extent, in 
a compact village. They had houses made of timbers framed 
together, lathed and plastered over with a kind of red clay, 
which gave them the appearance of having been built of 



MUTINY IN THE CAMP. 369 

brick. At that time they numbered 1500, of whom 300 were 
warriors. For many years they have not joined the Ci'eeks 
in any of their games or dances ; and have only been kept 
from open hostility with other tribes, by the influence of the 
white people. 

[For this note I am indebted to my friend Samuel G. Drake ; 
whose Biography and History of the Indians of North America 
comprises much that can be known of the aborigines. 

XX. — Page 194. 

OF THE MUTINY IN THE CAMP, AND ATTEMPT AT ASSASSINATION. 

From the journal of William Stephens, Esq. (Vol. II. pp. 
76, 90, 473, 480, 499, and 505 ; and Vol. III. 4, 5, 27, and 
32,) I collect the following particulars. One of the persons 
implicated in the insidious plot, was William Shannon, a Ro- 
man Catholic. " He was one of the new listed men in Eng- 
land, which the General brought over with him. By his 
seditious behavior he merited to be shot or hanged at Spit- 
head before they left it, and afterwards, for the like practices 
at St. Simons. Upon searching him there, he was found to 
have belonged to Berwick's regiment, and had a furlough 
from it in his pocket." Instead of suffering death for his 
treasonable conduct, in the last instance, he was whipped and 
drummed out of the regiment. " Hence he rambled up 
among the Indian nations, with an intent to make his way to 
some of the French settlements ; but being discovered by the 
General when he made his progress to those parts, in the 
year 1739, and it being ascertained that he had been endeav- 
oring to persuade the Indians into the interest of the French, 
he fled, but was afterwards taken and sent down to Savannah, 
and committed to prison there as a dangerous fellow." On 
47 



370 SHANNON AND MAZZIKE. 

the 14th of August, 1740, he and a Spaniard, named Joseph 
Anthony Mazzique, who professed to be a travelling doctor, 
but had been imprisoned upon, strong presumption of being a 
spy, broke out of prison and fled. On the 18th of Septem- 
ber, they murdered two persons at Fort Argyle, and rifled 
the fort. They were taken on the beginning of October at 
the Uchee town, and brought back to Savannah, tried and 
found guilty, condemned and executed on the 11th of No- 
vember, having previously confessed their crime. 

Since my account of the traitorous plot was written, as 
also of the attempt at assassination^ I have received from my 
friend Dr. W, B. Stevens, of Savannah, the following ex- 
tracts from letters of General Oglethorpe. As they state 
some particulars explanatory and supplementary of the nar- 
rative which I had given, I place them here. And this I do 
the rather because Dr. Hewatt, (Vol. II. p. 70,) as also 
Major McCall, (Vol. I. p. 124,) in the same words, and some 
others, incorporate the treachery at St. Simons, and the as- 
sault at St. Andrews into a connected narrative, as one oc- 
currence ; whereas it is very evident that the circumstances 
detailed were distinct ; one originating among the troops which 
sailed in the Hector and Blandford, in July 1738, from Eng- 
land,- and the pther in the two companies drawn from the garri- 
son at Gibraltar, which came in the Whittaker in the preced- 
ing month of May. 

In reference to the first. General Oglethorpe thus wrote in 
a letter to the trustees, dated, " on board the Blandford at 
Plymouth, July 3d, 1738." 

"We have discovered that one of our soldiers has been in 
the Spanish service, and that he hath stroved to seduce sev- 
eral men to desert with him to them, on their arrival in Geor-. 



- THE MUTINEERS. 371 

gia. He designed also to murder the ofRcers, or such per- 
sons as could have money, and carry off the plunder. Two 
of the gang have confessed, and accused him ; but we cannot 
discover the rest. The fellow has plenty of money, and he 
said he was to have sixty or a hundred crowns, according to 
the number of men he carried. He is yet very obstinate, 
refusing to give any account of his correspondents. We 
shall not try him till we come to Georgia, because we hope 
we shall make more discoveries." 

" They left Plymouth on the 5th of July, and arrived about 
the 16th of September, at Frederica." 

On the 8th of October, 1738, occurs the following passage 
in a letter from Frederica, to his Grace the Duke of Newcastle. 

" We have discovered some men who listed themselves as 
spies. We took upon one of them his furlough from Ber- 
wick's regiintient in the Irish troops. They strove to persuade 
some of our men to betray a post to the Spaniards ; who, in- 
stead of complying, discovered their intentions. I have or- 
dered a general Court Martial, for the trying of them, who 
have not yet made their report. One of them owns himself 
a Roman Catholic, and denies the King having any authority 
over him." 

" I conceive," says Dr. Stevens, that these two letters refer 
to one and the same thing, viz.: that there were spies^ which 
came over with the troops who arrived in September ; that 
they designed to betray the English posts ; that they were to 
murder the officers ; and defeat the object for which the regi- 
ment was sent to Georgia. But this plot was crushed by the 
fact of its being discovered, the ring-leaders seized, and a 
Court Martial ordered." 

Writing again to the Duke of Newcastle from Frederica, 



372 ATTEMPT AT ASSASSINATION. 

November 20, 1738, Oglethorpe says, — " Those soldiers who 
came from Gibraltar, have mutinied. The King gave them 
provisions and pay at GibraltElr. He gave them but six 
months provision here ; after which they were to live upon 
their pay. On the expiration of their provisions, they de- 
manded a continuance of them, and hot being able to comply 
with their demands, they took to arms. One of them fired 
upon me. After a short skirmish we got the better of them. 
One of the officers was slightly, and one of the mutineers 
dangerously wounded, and five are secured prisoners, to be 
tried by a Court Martial, We have strong reason to suspect 
that our neighbors have tampered with these men. Many of 
them speak Spanish, and some of their boats,* under various 
pretences, came up hither before my arrival." 

Upon this Dr. Stevens remarks — " In this case the cause 
of mutiny had no reference to the Spaniards. While in Gib- 
raltar the troops had received provisions in addition to their 
pay. These were continued six months after their arrival in 
America ; but when these were withdrawn, and nothing but 
their bare pay left, they became dissatisfied ; demanded ad- 
ditional supplies ; and, on refusal by General Oglethorpe, 
took to their arms. Here was a simple cause originating 
among themselves ; in the other affair, the soldiers who created 
the difficulty were acting as agents of a foreign power ; the 
bribed and acknowledged traitors to their own country. In 
the one case it was the sudden outbreaking of discontent, 
owing to the retrenchment of their wages ; in the other, it 
was a premeditated and well-concerted plan, framed by 
Spanish emissaries on the other side of the water, to be exe- 
cuted on this." 

* He refers here to boats frpm St. Augustine. 



NOTICES OF TOMO CHICHI. 373 

Referring to the remark of General Oglethorpe at the close 
of the last letter, as also to some suggestions in the letter of 
mine, to which the foregoing was the reply. Dr. Stevens 
adds — " That the Spaniards tampered with the English, and 
endeavored to seduce them from their allegiance, is not to be 
doubted ; because it was of the utmost importance to them to 
create divisions in the regiment ; but the one to whom Hewatt 
refers, as having been ' in the Spanish service, and had so 
much of a Roman Catholic spirit,' is doubtless the same 
spoken of by Oglethorpe in July, upon whom a Court Martial 
sat in September ; and who could not, therefore, have been 
connected with the mutiny at Fort St. Andrews, in Novem- 
ber." , 

XXL — Page 200. 

FURTHER PARTICULARS OF TOMO CHICHI. 

In the preceding pages are several references to Tomo 
Chichi, which show how strongly he became attached to Ogle- 
thorpe ; how liberal he was in the grant of territory ; how 
considerate in furnishing to the new settlers venison, wild 
turkeys, and other articles, as opportunity offered, and the oc- 
casion made particularly acceptable ; how serviceable he was 
in procuring such interviews with the Chiefs of the Upper 
and Lower Creeks as led to amicable treaties ; and how ready 
to assist, not only with his own little tribe, but by his influence 
with others, in the contests with the Spaniards. Some other 
notices of him, which bring out his excellent character more 
prominently, but could not be inserted in the body of this 
work, I have deemed to be sufficiently interesting to be in- 
serted here. 



374 NOTICES OF TOMO CHICHI. 

" There were no Indians near the Georgians, before the 
arrival of Oglethorpe, except Tomo Chichi, and a small tribe 
of about thirty or forty men who accompanied him. They 
were partly Lower Creeks, and partly Yamasees, who had 
disobliged their countrymen, and, for fear of falling sacrifices 
to their resentment, had wandered in the woods till about the 
year 1731, when they begged leave of the Government of 
Carolina to sit down at Yamacraw, on the south side of Savan- 
nah river." ' 

" Tomo Chichi had in his youth been a great warrior. He 
had an excellent judgment, and a very ready wit, which 
showed itself in his answers upon all occasions. He was very 
generous in giving away all the rich presents he received, 
remaining, himself in a willing poverty, being more pleased in 
giving to others, than possessing himself; and he was very 
mild and good natured." ^ 

"While Oglethorpe was at Charlestown, in June 1733, an 
Indian shot himself in the vicinity. His uncle, (who was a 
war-king,) and his friends, finding him dead, and fancying 
that he had been murdered by the English, declared that they 
would be revenged on them. Tomo Chichi, being informed 
of the uproar, came to the place and strove to quiet the In- 
dians, saying that he was persuaded it could not be the Eng- 
lish who had killed him ; and therefore desired that they 
would inquire better into the matter. But the uncle, continu- 
ing in a great rage, Tomo Chichi bared his breast and said to 
him, " If you will kill any body, kill me ; for I am an English- 
man." So he pacified them ; and, upon the thorough examina- 

^ Report of the Committee of the South Carolina Assembly, on 
the Indian trade, 4to, 1736, p. 11. 
. ' Gentleman's Magazine, 1740, "Vol. X. p. 129. 



NOTICES OF TOMO CHICHI. 375 

tion of the matter, it was found that for some days he had been 
in despair, and desired several different Indians to shoot him ; 
and an Indian boy saw him kill himself in the following man- 
ner; he put the muzzle of his gun under his chin, and with 
his great toe pushed the trigger." * 

The visit of Tomo Chichi to England was greeted in some 
beautiful poetry, of which the following stanza is an extract : 

" What stranger this ? and from what region far ? 

This wonderous form, majestic to behold ? 
Unclothed, yet armed offensive for the war, 

In hoary age, and wise experience old ? 
His limbs inured to hardiness and toil, 

His strong large limbs, what mighty sinews brace ! 
Whilst truth sincere and artless virtue smile 

In the expressive features of his face. 
His bold, free aspect speaks the inward mind. 

Awed by no slavish fear, by no vile passion blind.' 

Major McCall, after giving an account of the visit of the 
Indians to England, makes this declaration : " Tomo Chichi 
acknowledged that tl;ie Governor of the world, or Great 
Spirit, had given the English great wisdom, power, and 
riches, so that they wanted nothing. He had given the In- 
dians great extent of territories, yet they wanted every thing. 
Therefore he exerted his influence in prevailing on the Creeks 
to resign such lands to the English as were of no use to them- 
selves, and to allow them to settle amongst them ; that they 
might be supplied with useful articles for cultivation, and 
necessaries of life. He told them that the English were a 
generous nation, and would trade with them on the most hon- 
orable and advantageous terms ; that they were brethren and 

* New England Weekly Journal for August 23, 1733. 



376 NOTICES OF TOMO CHICHI. 

friends, and would protect them against danger, and go with 
them to war against their enemies." Vol. I. p. 46. 

Mr. Wesley, in his Journal, writes July 1st, 1736 : " The 
Indians had an audience, and andther on Saturday, when 
Chicali, their head man, dined with Mr. Oglethorpe. After 
dinner I asked the grey-headed old man, ' What he thought 
he was made for .? ' He said, ' He that is above knows what 
he made us for. We know nothing. We are in the dark. 
But white men know much. And yet white men build great 
houses, as if they were to live forever. In a little time white 
men will be dust as well as I.' I told him, ' if red men will 
learn the good book, they may know as much as white men. 
But neither we nor you can know that book, unlessi we are 
taught by Him that is above ; and he will not teach you un- 
less you avoid what you already know is not good.' He an- 
swered, ' I believe that ; He will not teach us while our hearts 
are not white [pure] ; and our men do what they know is not 
good. Therefore he that is above does not send us the good 
book.'" 

About ToMo Chichi, the following is given in Spence's 
Anecdotes, p. 318. (Ed. Lond. 1820.) 

" When General Oglethorpe was conversing with a sensible 
old native of Georgia about prayer, the latter said that ' they 
never prayed to God, but left it to him to do what he thought 
to be best for them ; that the asking for any particular bless- 
ing, looked to him like directing God ; and if so, must be a 
very wicked thing. That, for his part, he thought every thing 
that happened in the world was as it should be ; that God, of 
himself, would do for every one what was consistent with 
the good of the whole ; and that our duty to him was to be 
content with whatever happened in general, and thankful for 
all the good that happened to us in particular.' " 



NOTICES OF TOMO CHICHI. 377 

The speech of Tomo Chichi, on presenting ilie feather of 
an Eagle to Oglethorpe, is very expressive in his own laconic 
explication. By a little paraphrase it may be understood to 
import : " The Eagle has a sharp beak for his enemies, but 
down on his breast for his friend. He has strong wings, for 
he is aspiring '; but they give shelter to feeble ones, for he is 
naturally propitious." 

" ToMo Chichi died on the 5th of October, 1739, at his own 
town, four miles- from Savannah, of a lingering illness, being 
aged about 97. He was sensible to the last minutes ; and 
when he was persuaded his death was near, he showed the 
greatest magnanimity and sedateness, and exhorted his people 
never to forget the favors he had received from the King 
when in England, but to persevere in their friendship with 
the English. He expressed the greatest tenderness for Gen- 
eral Oglethorpe, and seemed to have no concern at dying, 
but its being at a time when his life might be useful against 
the Spaniards. He desired that his body might be buried 
among the English, in the town of Savannah, since it was he 
that had' prevailed with the Creek Indians to give the land, 
and had assisted in the founding of the town. The corpse 
was brought down by water. The General, attended by the 
Magistrates and people of the town, met it upon the water's 
edge. The corpse was carried into the Percival square. The 
pall was supported by the General, Colonel Stephens, Colonel 
Montaigute, Mr. Carteret, Mr. Lemon, and Mr. Maxwell. It 
was followed by the Indians, and Magistrates, and people of 
the town. There waa the respect paid of firing minute 
guns from the battery all the time of the procession ; and 
funeral firing by the militia, who were under arms. The 
General has ordered a pyramid of stone which is dug in this 
48 



378 OGLETHORPE'S MANIFESTO. 

neighborhood, to be erected over the grave, which being in 
the centre of the town, will be a great ornament to it, as 
well as testimony of gratitude," " 

As a frontispiece to one of the volumes of Urlspeeger's 
Journal of the Saltzlurg Emigrants, is an engraving of Tomo 
Chichi and Toonahowi, \\\\\ch. bears the inscription, " Tomo 
Chachi, Mico, and Toonahowi, the son of his brother, the 
Mico, or king of Etichitas ; engraved in Augsburg after the 
London original, by John Jacob Kleinshmidt." 

In 1738, a dramatic entertainment in three acts, entitled 
Timbo Chiqui, was published by John Cleland. [Nichols's 
Literary Anecdotes, Vol. II. p. 459. 

Toonahowi was killed, valiantly fighting for the English 
against the Yamasee Indians, at Lake di Pupa, in 1743. 



XXII. — Page 224. 

MANIFESTO B^ GENERAL OGLETHORPE. 

Charlestoion, April 1, 1740. 

Whereas upon mature deliberation it is resolved to defend 
these Provinces by invading the Province of Florida, and at- 
tacking St. Augustine, in order to rerriove the enemy that frpm 
thence may molest his Majesty's subjects in America, which 
enemy both have and do- continue to foment and countenance 
the slaves to rebellion, burning houses, murders, and other 
cruelties, of which the circumstances of the late massacre in 

1 Gentleman^ Magazine, 1740', Vol. X. p. 129, and London Maga- 
zine, 1758, Vol. LVII. p. 24. The account of the death and funeral 
of Tomo Chichi, much like the above, is given in the Journal of 
W. Stephens, who was present. Vol. II. p. 153. 



OGLETHORPE'S MANIFESTO. 379 

this Province is too sad a proof ; and whereas the General 
Assennbly of this Province hath ordered forces to be raised, 
so that an army composed of various troops and Indians are 
to assist in invading the Spanish dominions of Florida ; I, 
therefore, to prevent any disorders that may arise in the said 
army by virtue of powers received from his JMajesty authoriz- 
ing and empowering me, (for the better government of the 
forces during their continuance under my command,) to pre- 
pare and publish such rules and ordinances as -are fit to be 
observed by all officers and soldiers : in regard, therefore, to 
the regiment of foot raised in South Carolina, I do constitute 
and appoint that Alexander Vanderdussen, Esq., Colonel of 
the said regiment, paid by the government of South Carolina, 
shall hold regimental courts martial for the trials of such 
offences as shall be committed by the officers and soldiers of 
that regiment ; and that the said court martial shall consist of 
the officers of that regiment only ; and that the Colonel of the 
said regiment shall sit as President of the said regimental 
courts martial, and make a report to me, and that according 
to the judgment of the said Courts I shall cause sentence to 
be pronounced, in case 1 approve of the same, or otherwise 
suspend the same as I shall see cause. And I do further 
declare that this authority shall continue for the space of four 
months from the commencement of the said expedition, and 
no longer ; and that after the expiration of the said four 
months, or other sooner determination of the said expedition, 
every officer and soldier, whether volunteers from, or in the 
pay of the government of Carolina, shall have free liberty to 
depart and return to their habitations, and that a free pass (if 
by them required,) shall be respectively granted unto them, 
against being impressed, impeded, enlisted, or detained, by 



330 GOLPNEL PALMER, 

any authority, civil or military, whatsoever, that may be exer- 
cised by or derived from me. 

And I do further declare that if the officers of his Majesty's 
ships of war shall land men to assist the land forces, one full 
moiety of all the plunder that shall be taken in such service, 
shall go to the officers and men in his Majesty's said sea-ser- 
vice, whose ships are assisting in the said expedition ; and that 
all plunder taken and accruing to the officers and men in the 
land service shall be divided among the officers and men of 
the land service, in the same manner and proportion as prizes 
are distributed among the officers and men in his Majesty's 
sea-service, according to the laws and rules of his Majesty's 
navy. 

And I do further declare that whatever share of plunder 
shall come to me as General and connmander of the said 
forces, I will apply the same totally towards the relief of such 
men as may happen to be maimed or wounded in the said 
'expedition, and towards assisting the widows and children of 
any of the said forces that may happen to be killed in the said 
service ; and for the rewarding of such as shall perform any 
distinguished brave action. 

No Indian enemy is to be taken as a slave, for all Spanish 
and Indian prisoners do belong to his Majesty, and are to be 
treated as prisoners, and not as slaves. 

James Oglethokpe. 

XXIIL— Page 235. 

/ 

COLONEL PALMER. 

"As no final agreement with respect to the limits of the 
two provinces had been concluded, the Indians in alliance with 



SIEGE OF ST. AUGUSTINE. 381 

Spain continued to harass the British settlements. Scalping 
parties of the Yamasees frequently penetrated into Carolina ; 
killed white men, and carried off every negro they could find. 
Though the owners of slaves had been allowed from the Span- 
ish government a compensation in money for their losses, yet 
few of them ever received it. At length Colonel Palmer 
resolved to make reprisals upon the plunderers. For this 
purpose he gathered together a party of militia and friendly 
Indians, consisting of about three hundred men, and entered 
Florida with a resolution of spreading desolation throughout 
the province. He carried his arms as far as the gates of St. 
Augustine, and compelled the inhabitants to take refuge in 
their castle. Scarce a house or hut in the Colony escaped the 
flames. He destroyed their provisions in the fields ; drove off 
their hogs, cattle, and horses ; and left the Floridians little 
property, except what was protected by the guns of their fort. 
By this expedition he demonstrated to the Spaniards their 
weakness ; and that the Carolinians, whenever they pleased, 
could prevent the cultivation and settlement of their Province 
so as to render the improvement of it impracticable on any 
other than peaceable terms with their neighbors." ^ 

XXIV. — Page 239. 

AN ACCOUNT OF THE SIEGE OF ST. AUGUSTINE, IN A LETTER 
FROM ON BOARD THE HECTOR. 

" May 30th, [1740] we arrived near St. Augustine. June 
1st we were joined by the Flamborough, Captain Pearse ; the 

* Hewatt's History of South Carolina, Vol. I. p. 314, and Dr. 
Ramsat's History of South Carolina, Vol. I. p. 137 ; where it is 
quoted, word for word, without acknowledgment. 



382 SIEGE OF ST. AUGUSTINE. 

Phcenix, Captain Fanshaw ; the Tartar, Captain Townshend ; 
and the Squirrel, Capt. Warren, of twenty guns each ; besides 
the Spence Sloop, Captain Laws, and the Wolf, Captain Dan- 
dridge. On the 2d Colonel Vanderdussen, with three hundred 
Carolina soldiers, appeared to the north of the town. On the 
9th General Oglethorpe came by sea with three hundred sol- 
diers and three hundred Indians from Georgia : on the which 
they were carried on shore in the men-of-war's boats, under 
the cover of the small ships' guns. They landed on the Island 
Eustatia, without opposition, and took the look-out. The 13th 
Captain Warren, in a schooner and other armed sloops and 
pettiauguas anchored in their harbor, just out of cannon shot, 
until the 26th, when the sailors were employed in landing 
ordnance and other stores, within reach of the enemy's cannon. 
On which occasion they discovered a surprising spirit and 
intrepidity. The same night two batteries were raised ; but 
too far off. The 27th the General summoned the Governor 
to surrender ; who sent word he should be glad to shake hands 
wkh. him in his castle. This haughty answer was occasioned 
by a dear-bought victory which five hundred Spaniards had 
obtained over eighty Highlanders, fifty of whom were slain ; 
but died like heroes, killing thrice their number. The 29th, 
bad weather, obliged the men-of-war to put to sea, out of 
which but one man had been killed. Hereupon the siege was 
raised." 

Letter fro7n General Oglethorpe to Rev. J. M. Bolzius. 

Reverend Sir, 

Though God has not been pleased to prosper us with the 
success of taking St. Augustine, yet we are to thank him for 
the safe return of the greatest part of our men, and that the 
pride of our enemy has been curbed. 



SIEGE OF ST. AUGUSTINE. 383 

Those men who came from Ebenezer, and that were in the 
Carolina regiment, I have ordered to be sent up to you again. 
I recommend myself to your prayers, 
and am, Reverend Sir, 

Your most obedient humble servant, 

James Oglethorpe. 
Frederica, 5 August, 1740. 

From the Gentleman's Magazine, for November, 1740. 

A letter in the Daily Post of the 26th, dated from Charles- 
town, ^outh Carolina, having laid the ill success at Fort St. 

Augustine on the ill conduct of , some particulars of 

which are : 1st, that the cattle taken at a cow-pen of one 
Diego, twenty-five miles from the town. May 12, were not 
distributed to the soldiery ; 2d, that the people might have 
entered the town without opposition, but were not suffered ; 
3d, that the men were needlessly harassed ; 4th, that Colonel 
Palmer, who was sent to Negro Fort, two miles from the town, 
with one hundred and thirty-three men to alarm the Spaniards 

was not supported by , who staid six or seven miles 

off; 5th, that Colonel Palmer being attacked by five hundred 
Spaniards, shot three of them after they had entered the fort ; 
6th, that Captain Warren was the life and spirit of the cause ;, 
7th, that the Volunteers, seeing no prospect of succeeding 
under such mad conduct, as they called it, daily went off", — 
the following answer was published. 

" Upon seeing a letter misrepresenting, in the most false and 
malicious manner, the late expedition against St. Augustine ; 
aiming thereby to defame the character of a gentleman, whose 
unwearied endeavors for the public service, have greatly im- 
paired his health ; and as I, who am a Captain in General 



384 SIEGE OF ST. AUGUSTINE. 

Oglethorpe's regiment, was present, and acted upon that occa- 
sion as Brigadier Major, and must know the whole transactions, 
I think it my duty to take notice of it. 

" As to the cow-pen it speaks of, it is a square Fort, with 
four carriage guns and four swivel guns, and had a garrison 
in it of forty-seven soldiers of the regular troops, and seven 
negroes, who were all made prisoners of war. The cattle 
found there, and in parts adjacent, were distributed to the 
King's troops and the Carolina regiment. 

" In respect to the Carolina people being ready to enter the 
town of Augustine without opposition ; it is entirely false, and 
without the least foundation. 

" In regard to Colonel Palmer's misfortune, who was killed 
in the first fire from the Spaniards ; he brought it upon himself 
by disobeying the orders he received, which positively enjoined 
his keeping in the woods, and avoiding action, and by acting 
contrary to the advice of the officers under his command, 
some of whom were present when he received his orders, and 
lodging himself in the Negro Fort Moosa, where they were 
surrounded and defeated ; the gates of which fort, and the 
house within it, the General had before burnt. 

" With respect to the Carolina Volunteers ; that they did go 
away is certain, without leave given, or asked, and their Cap- 
tain with them. A Captain of the Carolina regiment also left 
his command in the guard of the trenches, without being re- 
lieved, or asking any leave, and went with them. After such 
behavior, what credit can be given to such men, though termed 
persons of note ? 

" As to Captain Warren, whose name is mentioned to en- 
deavor to throw an odium elsewhere ; I am convinced by the 
personal acquaintance I have with him, that he will upon all 



SPANISH INVASION. 385 

occasions, do his duty in the service of his King and country ; 
as also Captain Law and Captain Townshend, that were ashore 
with him. - . , 

" The morning after we landed upon the Island of Anas- 
tatia, I stood by while Captain Warren read to General Ogle- 
thorpe a letter to Captain Pearse, then Commodore, acquainting 
him of our landing without ctny loss, and the Spaniards with- 
drawing from that Island, on which Captain Warren said, all 
that was now necessary to secure the reduction of the place, 
was the taking of the Spanish galleys, which undertaking he 
would himself head with the King's boats under the cannon 
of the fort, if he would give him leave. Several councils of 
war wei'e held on board his Majesty's ships by the sea cap- 
tains, but Captain Warren's proposition was not undertaken. 

" Lest malicious people should suggest that I might be sent 
to England by General Oglethorpe on this occasion, I solemnly 
declare, that I came at my own desire by his leave, and had 
no instructions from him, directly or indirectly, concerning 
thisaffair; but my regard to truth, and abhorrence of all false 
and malicious reports whatsoever, have induced me to publish 
this, to which I set my name. Hugh Mackay. 

Johnson's Court, Charing Cross, Nov. 29, 1740. 

XXV. — Page 249. 

SPANISH INVASION. 

For details of the Spanish invasion in 1742, 1 refer to the 
Gentlemcm's Magazine, Vol. XII. pages 494, 496, 550, and 
661 ; and would here remark that Patrick Sutherland, Lieu- 
tenant of General Oglethorpe's regiment, was sent express to 
England to give an account of the war, and was furnished 
49 



386 SPANISH INVASION. 

with a minute Journal of the occurrences ; but, being taken 
by a Spanish privateer, he threw his papers into the sea. A 
circumstantial relation, however, having been sent by another 
conveyance to the Trustees, was attested and confirmed by 
Lieutenant Sutherland on his arrival in London ; and was pub- 
lished in the London Gazette of December 25th, and thence 
transferred into the Gentleman''s Magazine, for 1742, p. 693, 
and was afterwards repeated in the London Magazine for 
1758, p. 79. There is also in Harris's Collection of Voyages, 
Vol. II. p. 324-347, a very particular account of the Span- 
ish invasion, which is introduced by the following remarks : 
" As to the manner in which they executed it at last ; and the 
amazing disappointment they met with, notwithstanding the 
vast force they employed, and the smallness of that by which 
they were assisted, we had so full, so clear, and so authentic 
an account published by authority, that I know of no method 
more fit to convey an idea of it, or less liable to any excep- 
tions than transcribing it." Of this I have freely availed my- 
self, and have distinguished the direct quotations by inverted 
commas, but without repeating the references in marginal 
notes. 

This account is concluded with the following remarks : " I 
must observe, before I conclude this chapter, that if there be 
any thing in it which ought in a particular manner to claim 
the attention of the public, it is, in a great measure, due to 
the lights afforded by the Honorable James Oglethorpe, from 
whom, if the author has caught any part of that generous 
spirit which inclines a man t6 bend all his thoughts and turn 
all his labors to the service of his country, it is but just that 
he should acknowledge it ; and this he is the more ready to 
do, because, if there be any merit in his performance, capa- 



ORDER FOR A THANKSGIVING. 387 

ble of making it known to and esteemed by posterity, he 
would willingly consecrate it as a mark of his esteem and 
gratitude for the many informations he has received, and the 
right turn that has been given to his inquiries, by that knowing 
and worthy person, who is equally happy in rendering the 
greatest personal services himself to the community, and in 
infusing the like disposition in others, both by his example and 
conversation." 

Some extracts are also inserted in my narrative from an 
account of the Invasion of Georgia, taken from the Diary of 
the Preachers at Ebenezer. [Urlsperger, Vol. IV. p. 1252.] 
This is principally derived from intelligence by despatches to 
Savannah, and contains three letters from Oglethorpe, Just 
as my manuscript was going to the press, I was favored by 
my obliging friend. Dr. Stevens, of Savannah, with a copy of 
General Oglethorpe's despatch to the Duke of Newcastle ; in 
season, however, to profit by it. 

XXVI. — Page 268. 

COPY OF AN ORDER FOR A THANKSGIVING TO BE HELD TO THE 
PRAISE OF GOD, THAT HE HAS PUT AN END TO THE SPANISH 
INVASION.^ 

Almighty God has at all times displayed his power and 
mercy in the wonderful and gracious delivery of his Church ; 
and in the protection of pious and godly rulers and people, 
who have acknowledged and served him, against the ungodly 
conspiracies and violent practices of all their enemies. He 
has by the interposition of his Providence rescued us from 
the assaults of the Spaniards. They came out against us 

* From the German translation of the Reverend Mr. Bolzius. 



388 ORDER FOR A THANKSGIVING. 

with fourteen sail of light galleys, into Cumberland sound, but 
fear came upon them, and they fled at his rebuke. Again 
they came with a mighty fleet of thirty-six ships and vessels, 
into- Jekyl sound, and after a sharp contest became masters of 
the fort, since we had but four vessels to oppose their whole 
force ; but He was there the shield of our people ; for, in the 
unequal conflict in which we held out bravely for four 
hours, not one of our men was killed, although many of theirs 
were, and five by a single shot. They landed with four 
thousand five hundred men upon this island, according to the 
account of the prisoners we took, yea even. of the English- 
men who escaped from them. The first party marched 
through the woods towards this town, (Frederica) when, be- 
fore a small number of our people, they were dispersed, and 
fled. Another party which supported that, fought also, but 
was discomfited. We may say surely the hand of God was 
raised for our defence, for in the two skirmishes more than five 
hundred fled before fifty ; though the enemy fought vigorously 
a long time, and, especially, fired their grenades with great 
spirit ; but their shooting did little hurt, so that not one of us 
was killed ; but they were thrown into great confusion, and 
pursued with so great loss, that according to the account of 
the Spaniards since made prisoners, more than two hundred 
returned not to their camp again. They advanced with 
their galleys against our fortress, but were disappointed 
and withdrew without discharging a shot. After this, 
fear came upon them, and they fled, leaving behind them 
some cannon, and many other things which they had taken 
on shore. Next, with twenty-eight sail they attacked Fort 
William, in which there were only fifty men, and after a 
contest of three hours, they desisted, and left the Province. 



ORDER FOR A THANKSGIVING. 389 

And so wonderfully were we protected and preserved, that in 
this great and formidable conflict but few of our men were 
taken, and but three killed. Truly the Lord hath done great 
things for us, by rescuing us from the power of a numerous 
foe, who boasted that they would conquer and dispossess us. 
Not our strength or might hath saved us ; our salvation is of 
the Lord. Therefore it is highly becoming us to render 
thanks to God our deliverer. For this purpose, and in regard 
to these considerations, I hereby appoint that the twenty-fifth 
day of this month should be held as a day of public Thanks- 
giving to Almighty God for his great deliverance, and the 
end that is put to this Spanish invasion. And I enjoin that 
every one observe this festival in a christian and godly man- 
ner ; abstaining from intemperance and excess, and from all 
extravagant signs of rejoicing. 

Given under my own hand and seal this twenty-first day of 
July, at Frederica in Georgia, in the year of our Lord one 
thousand seven hundred and forty-two. 

James Oglethorpe. 

[Under the date of September, the Rev. Mr. Bolzius makes 
this entry in his diary — " Mr. Jones told me lately, that 
the people and soldiers at Frederica, on the day when the 
Thanksgiving was held, observed such a stillness and good 
order as he had never seen there. There was also a very 
pertinent and devout ascription of praise read, which he (and 
Mr. Jones is a good judge of edifying things,) pronounce to 
be very excellent ; and, moreover, he maintained that it must 
have been prepared and composed by General Oglethorpe 
himself, for there was neither preacher nor school-master at 
Frederica at that time." '] 

* Uklspeeger, IV. p. 1261. 



390 SPANISH AND ENGLISH FORCE. 

XXVII. — Page 268. 

A LIST OF THE SPANISH FORCES EMPLOYED IN THE INVASION 
OP GEORGIA, UNDER THE COMMAND OF DON MANUEL DE 
MONTEANO. , ' • 

One Regiment of dismounted Dragoons, . . 400 

Havana Regiment, ...... 500 

Havana Militia, ...... 1000 

Regiment of Artillery, ...... 400 

Florida Militia, 400 

Batalion of Mulattoes, 300 

Black Regiment, 400 

Indians, . . . . . ... 90 

Marines, . . . . . . . . 600 

Seamen, 1000 






Total 5090 

General Oglethorpe's command consisted of, 

His Regiment, . . , . .... 472 

Company of Rangers, . . ... .30 

Highlanders, ....... 50 

Armed Militia, . . . . . . .40 

Indians, 60 



Total 652 



Ensign Stewart's command at Fort William, on the south 
end of Cumberland Island, consisted of sixty men. Fort Wil- 
liam was about fifty miles south-west from Fi'ederica. 



SILK CULTURE IN GEORGIA. 391 

XXVIII. 

A BRIEF HISTORY OP THE SILK CULTURE IN GEORGIA, 
BY WILLIAM B. STEVENS, M. D. 

One of the principal designs which influenced the settle- 
ment of Georgia, was the hope of thereby creating a silk- 
growing province, where that material for which England had 
so long beea indebted to France, Italy and China, could be 
produced in this colonial dependency. 

As early as 1609, the subject engaged the attention of the 
adventurers to Virginia, and in a pamphlet, called " Nova 
Brittannia offering most excellent fruites by planting in Vir- 
ginia," published that year, the writer says " there are silke- 
worms, and plenty of mulberie-trees, whereby ladies, gentle- 
women and little children (being set in the way to do it) may 
bee all imploied with pleasure, making silke comparable to 
that of Persia, Turkey, or any other." In 1650, Mr. Samuel 
Hartlib published a work entitled " Virginia Discovery of 
Silk Wormes, with their Benefits," in which he endeavored 
to show that the raising of silk was a thing very practicable 
in Virginia, and even asserted that as a staple, it might be 
made superior to tobacco, in which opinion he was confirmed 
by the judgment of several others. That they made sOme 
advances in this culture, is evident from the fact that the Coro- 
nation robe of Charles II., in 1660, was made of silk reeled 
in that colony, and even so late as 1730, three hundred pounds 
of the raw material were exported from Virginia. Tobacco, 
however, soon assumed and maintained the ascendancy, to 
the exclusion of this more useful and beautiful produce. 

In 1703, Sir Nathaniel Johnson introduced the silk culture 



392 SILK CULTURE IN GEORGIA. 

into South Carolina, but the astonishing success which re- 
warded the casual introduction of rice into the plantation 
about eight years before, precluded a just interest in the un- 
dertaking, and as a public and recognized commodity it soon 
came to naught, though several persons, more for amusement 
than profit, still gave their attention to it ; and as late as 1755, 
Mrs. Pinckney, the same lady to whom the province was in- 
debted for the first cultivation of indigo ten years before, 
reeled sufficient silk in the vicinity of Charleston to make 
three dresses, one of %yhich was presented to the Princess 
Dowager of Wales, another to Lord Chesterfield, and the 
third, says Ramsay, who narrates the circumstance, " js now 
(1809) in Charleston in the possession of her daughter, Mrs. 
Horrey, and is remarkable for its beauty, firmness and 
strength." 

But notwithstanding these failures and the known difficulty 
of introducing a new branch of agriculture into a country, as 
was evidenced by the compulsion which was necessary by 
Henry IV. to introduce it into France, against the united 
voices of the merchants-traders, and even in opposition to 
the Duke of Sully, and also the indifference manifested in 
England, notwithstanding the able proclamation of King 
James on the subject, commanding its cultivation ; the Trus- 
tees for the settlement of Georgia determined to make one 
more effort, which, if successful, would enrich both the pro- 
vince and the mother country. The views which -they enter- 
tained, however, of making Georgia supplant every silk-grow- 
ing country, were extravagant and erroneous ; they expected, 
in fact, to supply all Europe, and to produce an article of 
equal strength, beauty and value, with any made on the Con- 
tinent. The Piedraontese, thought they, who pay half of their 



SILK CULTURE IN GEORGIA. 393 

silk for the rent of the mulberry trees and the eggs of the 
worm, or the peasants of France, burdened with political dif- 
ficulty and stinted for conveniences, could not cope with the 
settlers of Georgia, where the mulberry (morus alba) trees 
would grow in the greatest luxuriance, where timber for their 
fabrics was no expense, where room was abundant and the 
reward sure. By this transfer, in addition to a direct saving to 
England of over £00,OOOZ. which she paid for this article to 
foreign countries, twenty thousand people were to find employ- 
ment in rearing it in Georgia, and as many more at home in 
preparing it for market. 

Aniong the first emigrants who sailed with Oglethorpe from 
England in November 1732, was Mr. Amatis, from Piedmont, 
who was engaged by the Trustees to introduce the art of silk- 
winding into the colony, and who for that purpose brought 
with him several Italians and some adequate machinery. 
White mulberry trees were planted in a portion of land on 
the eastern border of the city, called the Trustees' garden ; 
eggs were hatched, and silk spun " as fine as any from France 
or Italy." They soon, however, came to a mutual rupture, 
and the whole process was for a time suspended by the treach- 
ery of those employed, who broke the machinery, spoiled the 
seed, destroyed the trees, and then escaped to Carolina. Suf- 
ficient, however, had been wrought to test its value, and they 
were not discouraged by this inauspicious commencement. 
The Trustees still adhered to their design, and the more 
effectually to advance it, required of every settler that there 
should be on his grant, ten mulberry trees to each acre. 

Mr. Camuse and his wife, both Italians, were now entrusted 
with this business, in which they were continued six years ; 
the two first at a salary of 60Z. per annum, and the four 
50 



394 SILK CULTURE IN GEORGIA. 

last at lOOZ. besides the rent of a dwelling house and 
garden. - 

In June 1734, General Oglethorpe carried eight pounds of 
raw silk, the first produced in Georgia, to England, which was 
followed by a small trunk full of the same article, on the 2d 
of April, 1735, and after being made into orgazine, by the 
engine of Sir Thomas Lombe, at Derby, who said that it 
"proved exceedingly good through all the operations," was 
sent up to London on the 13th of August, 1735, when the 
Trustees, together with Sir Thomas Lombe, waited on her 
majesty Queen Caroline and exhibited to her the elegant spe- 
cimen of Georgia silk. The queen selected a portion of this 
parcel to be wove into a pattern, and being again waited on 
by these gentlemen and Mr. Booth, the silk weaver, on the 
21st of September, she expressed " a great satisfaction for 
the beauty and fineness of the silk, the richness of the pat- 
tern, and at seeing so early a product from that colony;" 
and to express her pleasure at such a favorable result, a com- 
plete court-dress was made from it, and on His Majesty's next 
birth-day, she appeared at the levee in a full robe of Georgia 
silk. 

On the return of Oglethorpe, in 1735, he renewed his en- 
deavors to bring it into active operation. For the purpose of 
obtaining a sufficient quantity of seed, he allowed no silk to 
be reeled that year, but let the worms deposit their eggs. He 
required, also, that the Italian women should teach a number 
of the colonists, and thus render general the knowledge tfeey 
could impart. The Saltzburgers at Ebenezer were the most 
forward to adopt his views, and in March 28, 1736, Rev. Mr. 
Bolzius gave one tree to each inhabitant as a present from 
Oglethorpe, and two of his congregation were instructed in 



SILK CULTURE IN GEORGIA. 395 

the art of reeling, by Mrs. Camuse. But though Oglethorpe 
gave Mr. Bolzius trees, silk worms, and a book of instructions, 
yet he confesses that he felt no interest in the business, nor 
inclination to pursue it. 

In July^ 1739, Mr. Samuel Augspourger carried over a par- 
cel of raw silk which he received from Mr. Jones, the Trus- 
tees' store-keeper in Savannah, and which was declared by 
eminent judges to be "equal to any Italian silk, and worth 
full twenty shillings per pound." 

On May 11, 1741, Mr. Bolzius in his journal states that 
twenty girls, during the last two months, succeeded in making 
seventeen pounds of cocoons which were sold on Friday last 
at Savannah for SI. 8s. During this year. General Ogle- 
thorpe advanced to Bolzius 51. for procuring trees, for which 
sum he obtained twelve hundred, and distributed twenty-two 
to each family in his parish. 

On May 1, 1742, fourteen pounds and fourteen ounces were 
sold, which brought 21. 19s. 6d. Nearly half of the silk- 
worms died at Savannah, owing, as was then supposed, either 
to poisoned dew or warm weather. 

December 4, 1742, General Oglethorpe sent five hun- 
dred trees to Ebenezer, with the promise of more if re- 
quired. The indifference of the good Mr. Bolzius had by 
this time passed away, and he was now a zealous advocate 
for its extension. A machine was erected near his house, and 
two women succeeded very well, by which the people were 
stimulated to renewed exertions, and a public Filature was 
contemplated. The enterprise of these Germans, seemed to 
excite the envious disposition of Mrs. Camuse, with whom had 
been placed two women from Ebenezer ; but the conduct 
of Mrs. C. in withholding information, rendered their ac- 



396 SILK CULTURE IN GEORGIA. 

quirement inadequate, and Mr. Bolzius withdrew them from 
her charge. The first parcel of silk made, was sent to the 
Trustees, who expressed themselves pleased with its quality. 
In 1745, the weight of cocoons was two hundred and fifty- 
three pounds, and of spun silk sixteen and three-quarters. 
In 1746, the weight of cocoons was three hundred and forty- 
four pounds, and of spun silk eighteen pounds. Early in this 
year a machine for winding, and coppers for baking, together 
with appropriate treatises on the art, were sent over by the 
Trustees, but the people were indifferent and apathetic. 

The Germans, however, were as active as formerly, and Mr. 
Bolzius, in a letter to Von Munch, dated May 6, 1747, says, 
that " the people last winter planted more mulberry trees than 
for thirteen years before," for which he promised them a 
bounty of one shilling for every tree which yielded one hun- 
dred pounds of leaves. The silk balls raised at this place 
this year, were over four hundred pounds, three hundred and 
sixty-six pounds of which sold for 36/. 12s. lO^d. The 
amount raised in the whole colony, was eight hundred and 
forty-seven pounds of cocoons, and sixty-two pounds of spun 
silk. In 1748, the Saltzburgers reared four hundred and 
sixty-four pounds, but their small trees were destroyed, and 
some of the larger ones injured, by the late frost. They this 
year succeeded admirably in spinning twenty-four pounds of 
raw silk, the want of a chimney and proper basins, which had 
impeded them before, in their rude building, having been 
remedied. The President, writing to Secretary Martyn, De- 
cember 11, 1746, says, " The fundamental cause of its stag- 
nation, is the unaccountable backwardness of some of our 
dames and damsels to employ themselves in attending to 
the worms during the time of feeding, which I have fre- 



SILK CULTURE IN GEORGIA. 397 

quently taken notice of, and it cannot be imputed to the want 
of leaves." 

During the same period only thirty-four pounds of spun 
silk were raised by the Trustees' agent in Savannah. Mr. 
Bolzius, under date of February 15th, 1749, thus writes : 
"the weather being now warm and pleasant, the mulberry 
trees have put forth their young leaves, and our people 
are now turning their minds towards making of silk," and 
then, after expressing his surprise, that so few were dis- 
posed to this culture, adds, "one reason for this reluctance, is 
ascribed to the circumstance that, by ordinary labor, about two, 
shillings might be obtained per day, whereas scarcely a shil- 
ling could be earned in the same time, by the silk concern." 
Seven hundred and sixty-two pounds of coccoons were raised, 
and fifty pounds thirteen ounces spun silk, and there were two 
machines erected in Mr. Bolzius's yard which drew off twenty- 
four ounces per day. On the 29ih September, 1749, the 
Trustees promised 21. to every woman, who shall make her- 
self mistress of the art of winding, in one year. And they 
also gave Rev. Mr. Bolzius permission to erect ten sheds, 
with clay furnaces, at an expense of not more than 21. each, 
and ten machines for reeling, at thirty shillings each, which 
he says could be made better than those at Savannah for 3Z. ; 
they also sent them ten basins, and the good Germans felt the 
impulse of this substantial encouragement. In 1750, though 
the people in other parts of the colony mostly relinquished the 
silk culture, the inhabitants of Ebenezer continued vigorously 
employed and interested in it. On the 2d of June they re- 
ceived ten kettles from the Trustees, one of which, and a 
reeling machine, were given to each mistress in the art of 
spinning, and two of the best artisans received 5Z. for giving 



398 SILK CULTURE IN GEORGIA. 

instruction to fourteen young women, to each of whom was 
bestowed 11. for attention and industry. 

Over a thousand pounds of cocoons were raised at Ebene- 
zer, and seventy-four pounds two ounces raw silk made, pro- 
ducing (the price being then thirty shillings) over llOZ. ster- 
ling. As illustrative of the luxuriant growth of the mulberry, 
it may be interesting to state, that two trees in front of the 
Parsonage, ten years old, measured three feet eight inches in 
circumference. In December of this year, eight more copper 
basins were received, and public confidence in the success of 
the undertaking seemed revived, notwithstanding Mr. Camuse 
and family had left the Province, and settled at Purysburgh, 
in South Carolina. 

On the 25th December, 1750, Mr. Pickering Robinson, who, 
together with Mr. James Habersham, had been appointed the 
preceding August a commissioner to promote more effectually 
the culture of silk, arrived in Savannah. 

Mr. Robinson had been sent to France, at the expense of 
the Trustees, to study the management of filatures and the 
necessary processes for preparing the article for market, and 
thus, though no operative, was qualified to take the directorship 
of so important a branch of industry. His salary was lOOZ. 
per annum ; 251. for a clerk, and a tract of land was also 
granted him, which, in 1763, sold for 1300Z. 

Mr. Robinson brought with him a large quantity of silk- 
worm seed, but all failed, save about half an ounce; the com- 
missioners determined at once to erect a filature, which should 
be a normal school to the whole province, and it was their 
opinion that it would be " a sufficient nursery to supply, in 
three or four years, as many reelers as will be wanted, when 
we make no doubt of many private filatures being erected, 



SILK CULTURE IN GEORGIA. 399 

which can only make their culture a general staple." The 
dimensions were thiriy-six feet by twenty, rough boarded, 
with a loft or upper story, for the spreading out of the green 
cocoons. It was commenced on the 4th of March, 1751. On 
the 1st of April, the basins were put up, and on the 8th of May 
the reeling began. To encourage the colonists, the Trustees 
proposed to purchase all the balls, and wind them at their 
own expense, and paid from Is. 6d. to 2s. Ad. per pound for 
green cocoons. The Commissioners separated the cocoons 
into three sorts : 1st, perfect cones ; 2d, the spongy and fuzzy ; 
and 3d, the spotted, stained, and dupions. This arrangement, 
however, gave great offence to some of the residents in Savan- 
nah and Purysburgh, and Messrs. Robinson and Habersham 
requested the Vice President and assistants to determine the 
respective prices and publicly announce the same, which they 
did on the 26th April, by a proclamation, wherein by way of 
bounty, they promised to pay for cocoons delivered at their 
store in Savannah, the following sums, namely, for cocoons 
made by one worm, hard, weighty and good substance, 2s. 
per pound ; for the weaker quality, pointed, spotted, or bruised. 
Is. 3rf. ; for dupions (those made by two worms), 6rf. ; for 
raw silk, from 1st quality cocoons 14s. per pound ; for that 
made from 2d quality, 12s. ; the product of the double cones, 
6s. per pound ; and they also offered, if delivered at the fila- 
ture, for best cocoons, 3s. 6d. ; for middling Is. Sd. ; and for 
inferior Is. Id., a series of prices truly astonishing, when we 
reflect that the real merchantable worth of a pound of cocoons 
is scarcely ever 6d. , 

Experiments were made at the filature to ascertain the rela- 
tive quantity of each of these qualities, in a given weight of 
cocoons, and the results were, that in fifty pounds of green 



400 SILK CULTURE IN GEORGIA. 

cocoons, there were twenty-seven pounds of the first sort, ten 
pounds four ounces of the second, and twelve pounds twelve 
ounces of the third. After curing or baking, these fifty pounds 
weighed only forty-six pounds five ounces, showing a loss in 
ponderosity of nearly eight per cent. Beside the arrange- 
ment above specified, the cocoons were still further divided 
for the purpose of reeling into white and yellow, and these 
again, subdivided into five each, namely, 1st, hard and weighty ; 
2d, little woolly and weaker; 3d, very woolly and soft; 4th, 
spotted and much bruised ; 5th, double worms. 

Mr. Camuse, son, and daughter, who, it appears, gave the 
commissioners no little trouble by their perverse conduct, re- 
turned to Savannah and were engaged to labor at the fila- 
ture, at three shillings per day, at which Mr. Habersham 
exclaims, " monstrous wages ! " The reelers now advanced 
with much proficiency, and five of them, on the 10th of May, 
wound off" eleven pounds of cocoons each. The proportion 
of raw silk to the cocoons, appeared, on a variety of trials, to 
be nearly in this ratio : — 

oz. 
10th May, 1751, 55 lbs. cocoons, 1st quality, produced 117|-. 



11th 






, 8 


13th 






11 


15th 






55 


18th 






20 


22d 






15 


(( 






10 



(C (( 


6-9 


per thread 


18^. 


U (( 




produced 


21^. 


2d " 




(( 


109. 


a (( 




(( 


24. 


1st " 




a 


20f. 


2d " 




11 


13.k 



The whole amount of cocoons raised in the province, was 
six thousand three hundred and one pounds, of which two 
thousand pounds came from Ebenezer, and four thousand 
pounds were made at Whitefield's Orphan-house. Two hun- 



SILK CULTURE IN GEORGIA. 401 

dred and sixty-nine pounds and one ounce of raw silk, and 
one hundred and sixty-one pounds of filogee, were prepared, 
notwithstanding over three hundred and eighty pounds were 
lost by vermin, fire and mould. The expense of the culture 
was large this year, owing to the erection of the filature, &c., 
which swelled the sum to 609Z. 9s. 8^d. sterling. The pri- 
vate journals of that day kept at Savannah and Ebenezer, ac- 
quaint us, in some measure, with the arduous nature of the 
commissioners' labors, and the difficulties they encountered 
from the want of funds, the intractableness of laborers, the 
novelty of the attempt, the imperfections of machinery, and 
the bitter opposition of those who should have sustained and 
encouraged them. The public duties of Mr. Habersham pre- 
vented his constant attention to this business ; but the whole 
time of Mr. Robinson was devoted to the filature, directing 
the sorters, aiding the novices, advising the reelers, and in 
every way exerting himself to obtain success. His engage- 
ment with the Trustees expired on the 30th of August, 1751, 
but finding that his intended departure depressed the friends 
of the culture, he was solicited by the local government to 
remain another year, and, generously sacrificing private to 
public interests, he complied with their request. Mr. Haber- 
sham thus speaks of Mr. Robinson. " I think him the most 
prudent as well as the most capable person I ever knew, to 
undertake such a work, and if he could be continued here, I 
doubt, not but that he would turn out a number of well in- 
structed reelers, who would be able to conduct filatures at 
Ebenezer, Augusta, and other parts of the province." So 
great was the confidence which the Trustees had in him, that 
he was appointed an assistant in the government at Savan- 
nah ; an honor which he declined, and in the same letter 
51 



402 SILK CULTURE IN GEORGIA. 

stated, " If due encouragement be not given to the culture of 
raw silk, for the term of at least fourteen years, I positively 
cannot think of settling in America." These gentlemen re- 
commended the building of a house, sixty feet by twenty-six, 
as a cocoonry, great loss having been experienced for the 
want of such a structure. 

In 1752, Mr. Robinson returned to England, and his place 
was partially supplied by Joseph Ottolenghe, a native of Pied- 
mont, and a proficient in his art, who came to Georgia on the 
18th of July, 1751, and took charge of the filature in April, 
1753. In a letter to Lee Martyn, dated September 11, 1753, 
Mr. Ottolenghe says, that " there were fewer cocoons raised 
this year, as the worms mostly hatched before the trees 
leaved," and that " the people were willing to continue the 
business." One hundred and ninety-seven pounds of raw 
silk were made this year, and three hundred and seventy-six 
pounds in 1754, besides twenty-four pounds of filosele. The 
people of Augusta became interested in this manufacture, 
and entered v/ith considerable spirit into the undertaking, 
promising to send hands to Savannah, yearly, to learn the art 
of reeling : their enthusiasm, however, soon evaporated. 

On the 29th of March, 1755, a certificate, signed by thirty- 
nine eminent silk-throwsters and weavers, was given to the 
" Commissioners for Trade and Plantations," stating that 
after examining three hundred pounds of raw silk, imported 
from Georgia, " we do sincerely declare that the nature and 
texture is truly good, the color beautiful, the thread as even 
and as clear as the best Piedmont (called wire silk) of the 
size, and much clearer and even than the usual Italian silks ; " 
and furthermore, " it could be worked with less waste than 
China silk, and has all the properties of good silk well adapted 
to the weaver's art in most branches." 



SILK CULTURE IN GEORGIA. 403 

In 1755, five thousand four hundred and eighty-eight pounds 
of cocoons were raised, and four hundred and thirty-eight 
pounds of raw silk spun. The good effects of the filature 
were now happily evident in the increased interest of the 
planters in the subject, who sent both their daughters and 
young negroes to acquire the art of reeling. In 1756, three 
thousand seven hundred and eighty-three pounds and one 
ounce of cocoons were received at the filature, and two hun- 
dred and sixty-eight pounds of raw silk reeled. 

The liberal policy of the commissioners, who had no private 
ends to answer, caused them to recommend the establishment 
of additional filatures, and in their letter to the Trustees, June 
12th, 1751, they advise the erection of one at Ebenezer, and 
another contiguous to Savannah, but Mr. Ottolenghe opposed 
this course and arrogated to the one in Savannah the entire 
monopoly of the culture. Jealousy appears to have been very 
conspicuous in Mr. Ottolenghe's character, and his opposition 
to the Saltzburgers and depreciation of their efforts, arose 
from this suspicious trait. He aimed to render himself solely 
necessary, and aspersed everything which seemed to militate 
with his fancied superiority. This appears not only from 
letters of Governors Reynold and Ellis, but from his own 
correspondence, where this caution and fear of rivalry is plainly 
discernible. His course gave offence to the Ebenezer people, 
who had already erected a filature in their village ; who had 
been at great sacrifice to send their wives and daughters to 
learn the art of reeling in Savannah, and who had hoped to 
carry on the manufacture under their own supervision and for 
their own benefit. Mr. Ottolenghe, however, overruled their 
views and required all cocoons to be delivered at Savannah 
and to be reeled there. Each basin at the filature had two 



404 SILK CULTURE IN GEORGIA. 

apprentices, besides others who were employed in sorting the 
balls, &c., and the various operations connected with the trade, 
employed nearly forty persons. 

In 1757, over five thousand pounds of cocoons were received 
at Savannah, and three hundred and sixty pounds of raw silk 
spun, which, says Governor Ellis, would have been more, if 
the eggs had not failed ; and in a letter, dated 11th of March, 
1757, he says " the raising of silk seems to be no longer a 
matter of curiosity, it employs many poor people, and is ap- 
proaching towards a staple." 

Seven thousand and forty pounds of cocoons were deposited in 
the filature in 1758, but while the friends of this business were 
rejoicing in the assured success of their experiment they were 
saddened by the destruction of the filature, which took fire on 
the 4th of July, and was totally consumed. The wound silk, 
which had not yet been shipped, amounting to three hundred 
and fifty pounds, was saved, but several thousand weight of 
silk balls, together with much of the reeling apparatus, were 
destroyed. Another and more capacious building was imme- 
diately erected and was ready for use the ensuing season. 

In 1759, ten thousand one hundred and thirty-six pounds of 
cocoons were raised in Georgia, four thousand pounds of which 
were from Ebenezer, and the proceeds of their culture alone, 
for the season, reached 700Z. sterling. The opinion of those 
engaged in the culture, as expressed to Dr. Jared Elliot, was, 
" that it was more profitable than any other ordinary business." 

The cocoons delivered at the filature in 1760, weighed 
seven thousand nine hundred and eighty-three pounds, and 
there were spun eight hundred and thirty-nine pounds. Mr. 
Ottolenghe was now honored with the full appointment of 
" superintendant of the silk culture in Georgia," with a salary 
appropriate to his station. 



SILK CULTURE IN GEORGIA. 405 

Five thousand three hundred and seven pounds of coooons, 
and three hundred and thirty-two pounds of raw silk were pro- 
duced in 176L Governor Wright, under date 13th of July, says, 
" The greatest appearance that ever they had here was de- 
stroyed in two nights' time, by excessive hard and unseason-- 
able frosts, and there is likewise a degeneracy in the seed, as 
Mr. Ottolenghe tells me." These frosts occurred on the 5th 
and 6th of April. Parliament, this year, made a grant of 
lOOOZ. towards defraying the expenditure for the silk culture, 
and it was annually renewed until about 17G6. By means of 
this gratuity, Mr, Ottolenghe was enabled to give a high price 
to the rearers of cocoons, and thus sustain the encouragement 
so judiciously commenced. 

In 1762, fifteen thousand one hundred and one pounds of co- 
coons were delivered at the filature, and one thousand and 
forty-eight pounds of raw silk reeled, which Mr. O. declared 
to be the finest and best silk ever produced in Georgia. ' 

The year 1763 showed an increase of cocoons but a decrease 
of silk, there being fifteen thousand four hundred and eighty- 
six pounds of the former, and only nine hundred and fifty-three 
pounds of the latter. The occasion of this disparity was a 
season of cold, rainy weather, towards the close of April, by 
which the later cocoons were injured and rendered almost 
useless. 

There were delivered at the filature, in 1764, fifteen thousand 
two hundred and twelve pounds of cocoons, notwithstanding 
the season was so unfavorable, that Governor Wright mentions 
the case of one man who expected to make from five to seven 
hundred pounds, who only succeeded in raising one hundred 
pounds of cocoons. Eight thousand six hundred and ninety-five 
pounds were sent by the Saltzburgers, and the whole amount 
yielded eight hundred and ninety-eight pounds of raw silk. 



406 SILK CULTURE IN GEORGIA. 

In addition to the grant of Parliament, a Society, instituted 
in London, for the encouragement of arts, manufactures and 
commerce, offered certain premiums for the advantage of the 
British American dominions, among which were : 

" For every pound of cocoons produced in the province of 
Georgia and South Carolina, in the year 1764, of a hardy 
weighty and good substance, wherein only one worm has spun 
3d. ; for every pound of cocoons produced in the same year 
of a weaker, lighter, spotted or bruised quality, 2d. ; for du 
pions. Id." These premiums were to be paid under the direc 
tion of Mr. O., with proper vouchers that the same were raised 
in either of the provinces specified. 

It was agitated in 1765, to reduce the price of cocoons from 
3s. to Is. 6d. per pound, a measure which produced much 
dissatisfaction and as a consequence there was a considerable 
falling off in the amount of balls and silk, only twelve thousand 
five hundred and fourteen pounds of the former, and seven 
hundred and twelve pounds of the latter, together with seven 
hundred and twenty pounds of filosele being produced. To pre- 
vent the depression consequent on this reduction, Governor 
Wright suggested, that instead of so much per pound, as 
formerly, that the ten largest quantities should receive the 
highest, 50L, the next greatest parcel 45Z., and so on, gradually 
decreasing with the decrease in weight, until you reached the 
lowest quantity, to which 101. would be awarded ; thus, while 
the expense would be greatly lessened to the Trustees, the 
stimulus of reward would be sufficiently sustained. This 
advice was not adopted, though owing to the urgent remon- 
strances of those best acquainted with the business, the reduc- 
tion in the bounty was only 9d. instead of Is. 6d. On the 
25th April, 1765, the following order was published in the 
" Georgia Gazette : " 



SILK CULTURE IN GEORGIA. 407 

"Notice is hereby given to all whom it may concern, that, 
by direction of the Right Honorable the Lords Commissioners 
of Trade and Plantations, the price usually paid for cocoons 
is now reduced, and that no more than 2s. Sd. per pound will 
be paid for cocoons raised in this province, and delivered at 
the public filature this season. 

" By order of His Excellency the Governor. 

" Geo. Baillie, Commissary.'''' 

This bounty was still further reduced in 1766, when by 
order of the Board of Trade, only Is. Id. was paid per pound. 
The dependence of this culture on the weather, was signally 
instanced this year, from the fact that though many who had 
hitherto raised cocoons, abandoned it at the reduction of the 
bounty, yet such a large crop had never been produced before ; 
over twenty thousand three hundred and eighty pounds of 
cocoons being delivered at the filature, which, however, only 
produced one thousand eighty-nine pounds of raw silk, and 
eight hundred and fifty pounds of filosele. This amount of 
reeled silk was not at all pi'oportionate to the weight of the 
cones, resulting, as Mr. Ottolenghe said in a letter to Gover- 
nor Wright, October 2, 1766, " to the badness of the seed, 
and consequent inferiority of the worms." In 1760, the co- 
coons weighed only seven thousand nine hundred and eighty- 
three pounds, and yet eight hundred and thirty-nine pounds of 
raw silk were spun ; at which rate, the product this year 
should have been about two thousand pounds. 

On the 26th of June, Henry Kennan made proposals to the 
Board of Trade, for carrying on the filature ; but they were 
of a nature not at all advantageous to the culture, and Governor 
Wright, in his reply, on the 21st of October, disapproved of 



408 SILK CULTURE IN GEORGIA. 

the plan, and exposed the fallacy of his scheme, which was 
in consequence abandoned. 

In 1767, ten thousand seven hundred and sixty-eight pounds 
of balls were raised, and six hundred and seventy-one pounds 
nine ounces of raw silk spun ; the decrease of cocoons being 
caused, first, by withdrawing of the Purysburgh cocoons, 
which last year amounted to five thousand five hundred and 
fifty-one pounds ; and second, by the reduction of bounty, so 
that while last year the cocoons were delivered in by two hun- 
dred and sixty-four different persons, only one hundred and 
sixty individuals were this year devoted to the culture. The 
silk, however, was of a better quality, and sustained its high 
reputation in the London market. 

In 1768, another plan was proposed, by Mr. Delamar, " in 
order the more effectually to establish the growth of raw silk 
in America." His proposal was, to pay a bounty of 20s. per 
pound on every pound of good, clear raw silk imported from 
any of his Majesty's dominions in America, to be paid on the 
price such silk might sell for at public sale in London ; at the 
expiration of ten years, ten per cent, bounty was to be al- 
lowed ; the ensuing five years at five per cent., after which 
time the bounty was to cease. This was the general feature 
of his plan ; it was not, however, adopted, though in many 
respects its provisions were highly judicious and appropriate. 

But this branch of industry and commerce was fast waning 
before the increasing culture of more sure and lucrative pro- 
ducts, and only one hundred and thirty-seven different persons 
brought cocoons to the filature this year. Governor Wright, 
in his official letter to the Earl of Hillsborough, July 1, 1768, 
says, " I am persuaded that few, or none but the very poorer 
sort of people, will continue to go upon that article. Several 



SILK CULTURE IN GEORGIA. 409 

substantial persons, who did mean to make it an object when 
the price was higher, have, to my knowledge, given it over. 
The reason, my Lord, is evident ; for people who have their 
fortune to raise or make, will always turn themselves in such 
a way, and to the raising and making of "such commodities, 
as they think will answer best ; and it is very clear to me, that 
those who have negroes, may employ themselves and negroes 
to better advantage, &c., than by raising cocoons at Is. 6d. 
per pound, although that is, as I have said, 7, 8, or 9d. mote 
than they are inti'insically worth." 

Cluny, in his " American Traveller," printed in London, 
1769, says, " The climate of Georgia has been found to agree 
in every respect With the silk worm." Experience, however, 
proved that the climate was not sufficiently equable to secure 
.permanent and continued success. Governoi' Wright, in the 
letter quoted above, says, " the variable and uncertain weather 
in spring, makes it precarious," and facts amply confirm this 
statement. Only five hundred and forty-one pounds of raw 
silk were made this year, a smaller amount, with one excep- 
tion, than had been produced for ten years. In 1769, the 
quantity was still more decreased, both from the reluctance of 
the people to raise worms, and the unfavorable weather in 
spring. Governor Wright, on the 20th of June, 1769, says, 
"We had a most extraardinary prospect, till the middle of 
April, when I thought every thing safe, yet we had very cold 
rains on the 17th and 18th, which Mvere succeeded by hard 
black frost on the 19th and 20th, and destroyed a great part 
of the worms, and will reduce the silk very much." 

The silk business was now on the irretrievable decline, 
though it still maintained a nominal existence, and received 
the encouragement of Parliament. 'The special bounty which 
52 



410 SILK CULTURE IN GEORGIA. 

had hitherto been paid on cocoons, over and above their mer- 
chantable value, was suspended, and by a statute of 9 Geo. 
IIL, c. 38, a premium of twenty-five per cent, from the 1st of 
January, 1770, to the 1st of January, 1777, — of twenty per 
cent, from the 1st of January, 1777, to the 1st of January, 
1784, — and of fifteen per cent, from the 1st of January, 
1784, to the 1st of January 1791, on the ad valorem value of 
all silk produced in America and imported into Great Britain 
in vessels regularly navigated by law, was substituted in its 
place. 

The inhabitants of Ebenezer resumed the culture, which 
with them had long been dormant, and its revival at that time 
was principally owing to the influence of a very worthy man 
and magistrate, Mr. Wertsch, who, sanguine himself of ulti- 
mate success, had imparted to the Germans a portion of his 
own enthusiasm. 

In 1770, they shipped two hundred and ninety-one pounds 
of raw silk, the result of their own industry, and as the fila- 
ture at Savannah was discontinued in 1771, the Earl of Hills- 
borough, ever anxious to advance the produce, warmly com- 
mended the zeal of the Saltzburgers, and directed President 
Habersham to distribute " the basins and reels that were left 
in the public filature, to such persons as Mr. Wertsch shall 
recommend to be proper objects of that bounty ;" and in the 
same letter he promised that he would endeavor to procure 
for them, this year, " a small sum from Parliament, to be laid 
out in purchase of utensils for the assistance of the poor, sort 
of people in your province." This promise he redeemed. 

So popular had the silk business become at Ebenezer, that 
Mr. Habersham, in a letter dated the 30th of March, 1772, 
says, " some persons in almost every family there, .understand 



SILK CULTURE IN GEORGIA. 411 

its process from the beginning to the end." In 1771, the 
Germans sent four hundred and thirty-eight pounds of raw 
sillc to England, and in 1772, four hundred and eighty-five 
pounds, all of their own raising. They made their own reels, 
which were so much esteemed that one was sent to England 
as a model, and another taken to the East Indies by Picker- 
ing Robinson. The operations at Savannah were now totally 
discontinued, though Mr. Ottolenghe still styled himself " Su- 
perintendent of the Silk Culture in Georgia," and in considera- 
tion of his long and faithful service in that office, received an 
annuity of lOOZ. 

In a message of Sir James Wright, to the Commons House 
of Assembly, 19th of January, 1774, he says, " The filature 
buildings seem to be going to decay and ruin ; may it not, 
therefore, be expedient to consider what other service or use 
they may be put to ? " and the Assembly answered, " We 
shall not fail to consider how it may be expedient to apply 
the filature to some public use ; " and henceforth it was used 
as an assembly or ball-room, a place where societies held 
their meetings, and where divine service was occasionally 
conducted : more recently, it was converted into a dwelling- 
house, and was thus appropriated at the time of its destruction 
by fire, on the afternoon of March 25, 1839. 

Thus ended the grand project for raising silk in the Pro- 
vince of Georgia ; for though some few individuals, together 
with the people of Ebenezer, continued to raise small quan- 
tities, yet, as a branch of general culture, it has never been 
resuscitated. The last parcel brought to Savannah was in 
1790, when over two hundred pounds were purchased for ex- 
portation, at from 8s. to 26s, per pound. 

On reviewing the causes which led to the suspension of ^his 



412 SILK CULTURE IN GEORGIA. 

business, after so many exertions and such vast expense, 
which, it must be remembered, the profits of the culture never 
reimbursed, we find, first, the unfriendliness of the climate, 
which, notwithstanding its boasted excellence, interfered ma- 
terially with its success. Governor Wright, frequently speaks 
of its deleterious influence, and the fluctuations- in the various 
seasons, evidenced, to demonstration, that the interior was 
better adapted to the agricultural part of the business, than 
the exposed and variable sea-board. Mr. Habersham, in a 
letter to the Earl of Hillsborough, dated "Savannah, 24th of 
April, 1772," thus expresses himself on this point.' "Up- 
wards of twenty years ago, if my memory does not fail me, 
Samuel Lloyd, Esq., of London, who was one of the late trus- 
tees for establishing this colony, and was fourteen years in Italy, 
and very largely concerned in the silk business, wrote to me, 
that the best silk was produced at a distance, from the sea- 
coast, owing, I suppose, to the richness of the soil, which 
made the mulberry leaf more glutinous, nutritive and healthy 
to the silk-worm ; also, to their not being obnoxious to mus- 
quetoes and sand-flies, and probably, likewise, to the weather 
being more equal and less liable to sudden transition from 
heat to cold : and on a conversation this day with Mr. Barnard, 
of Augusta, he assures me, that from two years experience in 
raising cocoons there, he lost none from sickness, which fre- 
quently destroys two-thirds of the worms here ; " and he fur- 
ther says, that Mr. Ottolenghe told him that the silk reeled 
from the Augusta cocoons " made the strongest and most wiry 
thread of any raised in these parts." 

Second, the expensiveness of living, and the dearness of 
labor, which was as high as Is. 8d. to 2s. per day, whereas 
2d. or 2d. was the usual price paid the peasant in silk- 



SILK CULTURE IN GEORGIA. 413 

growing countries. Governor Wright, in a letter to the Earl 
of Hillsborough, frankly told him that, " till these provinces 
become more populous, and labor cheaper, I apprehend, silk 
will not be a commodity, or an article, of any considerable 
amount." 

Third, the great reduction of the bounty, which, being the 
stimulus to exertion, ceased to operate as an incentive, when 
from 3s. 3d. it fell to Is. 3d., and finally to a mere premium 
on the general quantity imported. The poor could not subsist 
on these prices, and the rich could employ their lands to much 
better advantage than in cultivating an article which would 
not repay the expenses of labor : and lastly, the increasing 
attention, bestowed on rice and cotton, sealed the fate of the 
silk culture, and the planters soon learned to consider the latter 
of no importance in comparison, with the large and lucrative 
crops yielded by these more staple commodities. Other rea- 
sons might be mentioned, but these sufficiently account for its 
decline there, and its total neglect even to the present day. 
During the morus multicaulis epidemic, which spread over our 
country in 1838, Savannah, it is true, did not escape, and 
for a time the fever raged, with much violence, but the febrile 
action soon subsided, leaving no permanent benefit and only a 
few fields of waving foliage, as a deciduous memento of this 
frenzied excitement. 

That silk can be produced in Georgia equal to any in the 
world, does not admit of a doubt, but whether it will ever be 
resumed, and when, is among the unknown events of the 
future. 



INDEX. 



A. 

Abercorn, the village, 87, 318. 

Adams, John, 294. 

Adderly, Edward, bequest by, 49. 

Alataraaha River, 80, 81. Settle- 
ment on the, 116. See Darien. 

Alligators, 176, note. 

Amatis, Mr., 51, 393. 

Amelia Island, 140. Barbarity at, 
219. Assault on, 250. 

American Colonies, 14. 

American Revolution, 286. 

Anastasia, taken, 229. Militia re- 
moved to, 237. 

Arabic, Job's letter in, 26. 

Ardent spirits, 60, 115,208,214. 

Argyle, John, Duke of, 73, 361. 
On Oglethorpe and the St. Augus- 
tine expedition, 241, 292, 300. 

Argyle, Fort, 72, 80, 318, 370. 

Atterbury, Bishop, defended, 10. 

Augusta, Georgia, 185, 214. 

B. 



Beloved men, 57, 212 note. 

Berkeley, George, Dean, 3, 334. 

Bloody Marsh, battle of, 259. 

Bluet, Thomas, 2.5, 27, 29. 

Bolzius,John Martin. 82, 85. Cited, 
88, 389. Whitefield's visit to, 
182. In an excursion to the 
islands. 140 note. Letter to, 382. 
Connexion of, with the silk cul- 
ture, 394. 

Booth, a silk weaver, 117, 394. 

Bosomworth, Reverend Mr., 58 
note. 

Boston, intention to visit, 75. Re- 
ception of Wesley at, 175. 

Bos well, James, 288. 

Bounties for produce, 210. 

Bull, William, Colonel, accompa- 
nies and aids Oglethorpe, 54, 56, 
61, 355, 357. Lieutenant Gov- 
ernor ; aid of, solicited, 223. 

Burke, Edmund, 294. 

Burning of captives, 237. 

Burton, John, Dr., 107, 166, 292. 



Baptism by immersion, 167 note. 

Barba, Antonio, Captain, 257, 259. 

Bathurst, Sir Francis, 120. 

Beaufort, reception at, 53. 

Belcher, Jonathan, Gov., letter by, 
75. Speech by, 78. On Georgia 
and the prohibitions of the Trus- 
tees, 103. On married soldiers, 
189. On the St. Augustine expe- 
dition, 242. 



Caciques, 214 note. 

Carlisle, 280, 281. 

Carolina, project for settling the 
south-eastern frontier of, 38. Re- 
ception at, 53, 356. Resolutions 
of the Assembly of, 56, 354. Re- 
ception of Oglethorpe by the 
Assembly of, 63. Assistance ren- 
dered by, to Georgia, 61, 63, 65. 



416 



INDEX. 



Advantage to, from settling Geor- 
gia, 64. Troops raised for, and 
commander appointed. 18rf. Aid 
of, solicited, 21 S, 219, 2'23. Forces 
from, 224, 226. Disappointment 
as to aid from, 226, 231. Appeals 
to, for aid, 250, 251, 253 note. 
Ships from, at St. Simons, 267. 
See Georgia. 

Caroline, Queen, 112. Silk shown 
to, 117, 394. 

Cattle, given to the Georgia colo- 
nists,, 56, 355, 357. 

Causton, Thomas, 1 68. Prosecutes 
John Wesley, 170. Displaced, 
199. Treatment of the Governor 
by, 205. Remonstrance with, 
206. 

Charleston, arrival of emigrants at, 
52 ; of the Saltzburgers, 82 ; of 
troops, 190. Visit to, in 1739, 
209. 

Chomondelly, General, 279 note, 
281. 

Cherokees, letter by a chief of the, 
116. Complaints by, 214. Aid 
of, summoned, 217. In the Flor- 
ida expedition, 224. Demand by 
their chief, respecting Nicholau- 
sa, 236. 

Chickasaws, complaints by, 214. 

Christianity, teachmg, on ship- 
board, 123. Tomo Chichi, on 
hearing, 163. See Indians, and 
Missionaries. 

Cochran, James, Colonel, 244. 

Colonies, American, 14. 

Cook, William, Lieutenant Colo- 
nel, treachery of, 253. Impeach- 
ment of Oglethorpe by, 273. 
Dismissed, 274. 

Coweta, expedition to, 210. 

Cranham, 296, 298, 305. 

Creek Indians in Georgia, 58, 59, 
67, 99. Alliance with, 69, 70. 
Grants by the, 70. Presents to 
their chiefs, 71. Ingham's resi- 
dence and studies amons: the, 1 77. 
Attacked by Spaniards, 192. 
Conference with, at Coweta, 211. 
Treaty with, 213'. Aid of, sum- 
moned, 217 In the Florida ex- 
pedition, 224. Escape of, at Fort 
Moosa, 235. Make a descent 
upon Florida, 248. Take Spanish 
prisoners, 248, 254. Account of 



the, 358. See Indians, Tomo Chi- 
chi, and Toonahowi. 

Crocodiles, 176. 

Cuba. See Havana. 

Cumberland Island, 139, 145. Fort 
St. Andrews there, 139, 152. Ef- 
forts to sustain, 250. Spaniards 
land on, 266. See St. Andrews. 

Cumberland, army of the Duke of, 
282. 



D. 



Darien, settled, 116. Expedition 
from Savannah to, 133. Visit to, 
136. Road to, 190. Loss by, at 
Fort Moosa, 235. 

Davies, Captain, 215. 

Delamotte, Charles, 108, 135. Cau- 
tions John Wesley, 168. In dan- 
ger, 176 note. Residence of, at 
Savannah, 178. Returns to Eng- 
land, 178. Reception of White- 
field by, in Savannah, 180. 

Dempsey, Charles, mission of, to 
St. Augustine, 132. Sent to 
Oglethorpe, 151 ; back to the Go- 
vernor of Florida, 157. Treaty 
by, 157. 

Diego, Fort, taken, 225, 383, -384. 
Owner of, 226. Garrison left at, 
226. Return to, 228. Attack 
on, in 174.3,272 

Dunbar, George, Captain, cited, 99. 

Dunbar, Lieutenant, 210. Recon- 
noitres Picolata and St. Francis, 
221. Left at Fort Diego, 226. 
Captain ; repels Spanish, 250. De- 
tached to harass the enemy, 256. 



E. 



Ebenezer, site of, chosen, 87, 366. 
Laid out, 88. Dissatisfaction 
with, 130. Improvements at, 
131. Abandoned, 132. Orphan- 
house at, 182. Whitefield's visit 
to, 182. 

Edinburgh, riot at, 19, 348. Fined, 
22. 

Epworth, visit to, 108. 

Eugene, Prince of Savoy, Com- 
mander of the Imperial army, 
Ocflethorpe with, 4. Defeats 
Turks, 5, 6, 7. 

Eyre, Thomas, 246, 253. 



INDEX. 



417 



F. 

Fleet prison, visit to, 10, 340. 

Florida, mission as to the boundary 
of, 13'i. Oglethorpe to annoy, 
217. Incursions into, :248, 272. 
See St. Augustine, and Sanchez. 

Foskey, 212. 

Francis de Pupa, 221, 225, 378. 

Frederica, site of, tSl note, 107. Laid 
out, 146. Indian dance there, 
147. Ingham and Wesley at, 
171, 176. Sand-flies at, 176 note. 
Visited by Whitefield, 1»3. Re- 
ception of the General at, 191. 
Measures for defending, 218, 254. 
Spanish vessel near, 245. Dis- 
tress and anxiety at, 260. Span- 
ish repulse at, 260. Treachery 
at, 261. Brick houses at, 318. 
See St. Simons. 



G. 



George's Island, 140, 141. 

Georgia, charter and trustees for 
settling, 39, 349. Cultivation of 
silk in, 41, 52, 117, 349, 391. 
Encouragements for emigration 
to, 43, 350. Oglethorpe governor 
of, 47. Citations respecting, 48. 
Adderly 's bequest for settling, 49. 
Embarkation for, 51. Selection 
of a place in, 55. Cattle given 
to, 56, 355, 357. Account of, 
58, 59, 313. Aided from Caro- 
lina, 61 , 65. Excursion along the 
coast, 79. An asylum for exiled 
Protestants, 82. Prohibition of 
rum in, 101 ; of slavery, 101. 
Missionaries to, 107, 161. Char- 
acter of first settlers of, 113, 181, 
183. Emigration of Scotch to, 
116. Preparations and great em- 
barkation for, 119. Reception at, 
126. Destination of the last emi- 
grants to, 134. Excursion along 
the islands of, 138, 139. Appre- 
hensions in, from the Spaniards, 
186. Troops raised for, 188. 
Embarkations for, 190. Scarcity 
in, 192. Fortified, 192. Pecu- 
niary embarrassments in, 202, 
205. Retrenchments in, 203. 
Measures for defending, 218. 
Effects of the St. Augustine 

53 



expedition on, 241. Spanish 
invasion of, 241, 249, 250, 385. 
Thanksgiving in, after the Span- 
ish evacuation, 268, 269, 387. 
Preparations for another invasion 
of, 271. Citations on the founder 
of, 275. Prediction as to, in 1732, 
295. See Indians, Moravians, 
Saltzburgers, and Savannah. 

Georgia Rangers, 279. 

German Protestants, 13. 

Glenn, Governor, mission to, for 
aid, 250, 253 note. 

Godalming, residence of the Ogle- 
thorpe family, 1, 9. 

Goldsmith, Oliver, 289. 

Grahame, James, cited, 49. 

Grimaldi, anecdote of, 124. 

Gronau, Israel Christian, 82, 85, 
88, 182. 



H. 



Habersham, James, 180, 183. 

Havana, embarkation at, 188, 191. 
Armament from, against Georgia, 
249, 255. Spaniards return to, 
267. 

Herbert, Henry, Chaplain, 51, 55. 

Hermsdorf, Captain, 120, 149. 

Heron, Alexander, Major, 246, 253, 
273. 

Herring Fishery, 285. 

Highlanders. See Scotch. 

Holmes, Abiel, cited, 274. 

Hopkins, Sophia, 168. 

Horton, Major, 138, 141. Despatch- 
ed to St. Augustine, 149. Ar- 
rested, 151. Sent back with an 
embassy, 151. 

House of Commons, Committee in 
the, on prisons, 10, 349. Part 
taken there by Oglethorpe, 12— 
19, 338. 

Houston, William, Dr., mission of, 
for medicinal plants, 128. Death 
of, 129. 

Howard, General, 279 note, 281. 

Howe, Sir William, 286. 

Huske, General, 279 note, 281. 



I. 



Imperial army. See Eugene. 
Impressment for sea-service, 14. 
Indians, interview and treaty with, 



418 



INDEX. 



at Yamacraw, 57, 58. Account 
of, in Georgia, 59, 319, 358. Pa- 
lachicolas, 87. Chiefs of, go to 
England, S9. Intioduced to the 
King and Royal Family, 94. 
Death and burial of one of the, 96. 
Visit Eton College and other pla- 
ces, 98. Regulation for main- 
taining peace with the, 100. 
Measures for teaching and Chris- 
tianizing, 104. 162. Wilson's 
Manual for the, 104, 106, 162. 
Missionaries to the, 122, 161. 
School for, 130. Islands ceded 
by, 138. Eager to attack the 
Spanish look-out, 140. Serio- 
comic adventure of, 142. Dance 
at Frederica, 147. Explain the 
objectoftheirembassy, 148. Con- 
ference at Savannah on trade 
with, 152. Fundamental princi- 
ples in the rights of, 154. Wes- 
ley's mission to the, 161. In the 
Florida expedition, 224. Visit 
the General at Frederica, 191 ; at 
Savannah, 200. Decoyed by 
Spaniards, 200. Aid of, solicited, 
250. See Cherokees, Creeks, To- 
mo Chichi, Toonakowi, and Uchee. 

Ingham, Benjamin, 108. Embarks 
for Georgia, 121. Goes to the 
South, 135. Reception of Wesley 
by, 171. Conduct of, at Frederi- 
ca, 176. His visit to Savannah re- 
specting Wesley, 177. Among 
the Creeks, 177. Goes to Eng- 
land for missionaries, 177. White- 
field and, 177, 178, 179. 

Insolvent debtors, for settling Geor- 
gia, 38, 43,299, 343. 

Inverness, emigrants from, 115. 

Ireland, S., portrait by, 292 note. 

Irene, the school, 130. 

Islands ceded by Indians, 138, 139. 



Jekyl, Sir Joseph, 80. 

Jekyl Island, 80, 266. 

Jekyl Sound, 135, 146. 

Jenys, Paul, Speaker, 86. 

Job Solomon, 24. 

Johnson, Robert, Governor of Car- 
olina, reception of the emigrants 
to Georgia by, 53. Letter from 
the Council and, to Oglethorpe, 



56, 353. Visit to, 62. His re- 
ception of the Saltzburgers, 83. 
His letter to Benjamin Martin, 
356. 

Johnson, Samuel, 287, 289, 292. 

Jones, Lewis, Reverend, of Beau- 
fort, 55. 

Jones, Noble, Captain, 255. 

Jones, Thomas, 199, 205. 



Lamberto, Don Pedro, Captain, 144, 

151. 
Lending money, 16. 
Letter, Indian, sent to England, 

116. 
Library, sent to Savannah, 177. 

Oglethorpe's, 296 note. 
Lombe, John, 42,346. 
Lombe, Sir Thomas, 15, 117, 346, 

394. 

M. 

McCall, Hugh, " History of Geor- 
gia by," 71. 

Mackay, Charles, Ensign, nephew 
to Captain Hugh Mackay, wound- 
ed, 234. Lieutenant; on a na- 
val expedition, 246. Sent with 
despatches to Governor (Henn, 
250. Success of, at Bloody Marsh, 
250. 

Mackay, Frederick, Captain, on 
trade with the Indians, 154 note. 

Mackay, Hugh, Captain, commands 
a periagua to explore the islands, 
138. IDirected to build a Fort on 
Cumberland Island, 139. Writes 
an account of the General's being 
hurt, 221. Appointed aid-de- 
camp, 260. 

Mackay, Hugh, Ensign, on the 
fate of Colonel Palmer, 232, 383. 

Mackay, Hugh, Jr., goes with pio- 
neers to Darien, 133. 

M'Intosh, John Moore, Captain, 
226. Capture and treatment of, 
236. Summoned to defend St. 
Simon's, 2-52 

Martin, Benjamin, 343, 356. 

McLeod, Reverend Mr., 137, 183. 

McPherson, Captain, 72, 81. 

Mageleto, Captain, killed, 256. 



INDEX. 



419 



Marlborough, Duke of, 4. 

Massachusetts, measures for receiv- 
ing Oglethorpe in, 75. 

Methodists, 106. 

Miller, Philip, 129. 

Missionaries to Georgia, 107, 121, 
161,164. ^ ' ' ' 

Money, lending, 16. 

Monteano, Don Manuel de, Gover- 
nor of St. Augustine, expedition 
by, 249, 255. Spy brought be- 
fore, 265. Little success of, 268. 
Forces under, 390. 

Moore, Francis, " Voyage by, to 
Georgia," 119, and note. 

Moore, Hannah, 293, 331. 

Moosa, Fort, taken and burnt, 227, 
384. Colonel Palmer stationed 
at, 229. Fate of, 231. 

Moral, Don Romualdo Ruiz de, cap- 
tured, 248. 

Moravians, 22, 23, 130, 366. 

Mo-rdaunt, Charles, General, 279 
note, 281, 334. 

Motte. See Delamotte. 

Musgrove, John, a Carolinian tra- 
der, 57, 67. 

Musgrove, Mrs, 57. 

N. 

Naturalization of Moravians, 22. 
Newcastle, 280. March to, 281. 
New Inverness, 116. 
Nicholausa, an Indian, 237. 



O. 



Officers, Oglethorpe's appointment 
of, 188. 

Ogechee River, expeditions up the, 
72, 80. Fort Arglye there, 73, 80, 
318, 370. 

Oglethorpe family, 1, 325. 

Oglethorpe, Elizabeth, wife of Gen- 
eral Oglethorpe, 279. Obituary 
notice of, 305. Her will, 307. 
Epitaph on, 309. 

Oglethorpe, James, time of his birth, 

2, 329. At Oxford, 2, 330. Mil- 
itary profession and promotion of, 

3. Under Prince Eugene, 4, 289. 
Member of Parliament, 9. His 
speeches and acts there, 10,338. 
Visits a prison, 10, 340. Chair- 
man of a Committee on prisons, 



11, 340. Publishes "The Sailor's 
Advocate," J 4. Director of the 
Royal African Company, 24. 
His kindness to the African, Job 
Solomon, 24, 27, 36. Course by, 
for settling Georgia, 38. Chosen 
governor, 47. His disinterested- 
ness, 47, 49, 52, 93, 290, 350. Ci- 
tations respecting, 48. Waits on 
Governor Johnson at Charleston, 

53. Selects a site for settlement, 

54. Treaty of, with Tomo Chi- 
chi, 58. Speech of, before the 
Governor and Assembly, 63. 
His treaty with the Creeks, 67. 
Presents by, 71. Builds Fort Ar- 
gyie, 72. Measures for receiving 
him at Boston, 75. Explores the 
Georgia coast, 79. Visits Fort 
Argyle, 80. His reception of the 
Saltzburgers, 82, 86. Goes to 
Palachicolas, 87. Goes with Indi- 
ans to England, 89, 90. His ar- 
rival, and notice of it, 91, 93. 
Prize medal for, 94. Letter by, 
to Dr. Thomas Wilson, 106. Vis- 
its the parents of the Wesleys, 108. 
His second voyage, 118, 121. Sir 
Francis Moore and, 119. Reli- 
gious toleration by, 123. Anec- 
dote of Wesley and, respecting 
his servant, 124. Reception of, at 
Savannah, 126. Gog^' to Ebene- 
zer, 31. To Putiflburgh , 132. 
Sends to the Governor of Florida, 
133. Meditates ia road to Dari-en, 
133. Goes with emigrants to St. 
Simons, 135. At Darien, 136. 
Hardiness of, 137. His excur- 
sion, with Indians, to the Islands, 
139. In a serio-comic adventure 
respecting Major Richard, 143. 
Complaints to, by the Governor of 
Florida, 145, 149. Urges the 
works at St. Simons, 146, 152. 
Presents by, to Indians, 148. 
Expedition sent to St. Johns by, 
149. His treaty with Uchee In- 
dians, 150. Preparations against, 
by the Spaniards, 151. Treaty of, 
with Spaniards, 158. Spanish 
demands of, 158. His visit to 
England, 1.59, 177, 185. Recep- 
tion of, by the Trustees, 185. 
Spanish jealousy of, 187. Gen- 
eral and Commander-in-Chief in 



420 



INDEX. 



Carolina and Georgia, 188. 
Raises troops, 188. His officers, 
188. Carries out supernumera- 
ries, 189. Reception of, in Geor- 
gia, 190, 191. Visited by Indi- 
ans, 191. Prepares for defence, 
192. Attempt to assassinate, 
195, 369. Reception of, at Sa- 
vannair, 197. Displaces Causton, 
199. Conference of, with Tomo 
Chichi and others, 200. Address- 
es the inhabitants, 201. Gives 
permission to leave the Colony, 
202. Retrenches, 203. Investi- 
gates, 203. Leaves Savannah, 
204. His return, 205. Repre- 
hends Causton, 206. Treatment 
of the discontented by, 206. Vis- 
its Charleston, 209. Encourages 
the planters, 210. Journey of. to 
Coweta, 211. Treaty of, with 
Creeks, 213. Orders reprisals, 
215. To annoy settlements in 
Florida, 217. Measures of, for 
protecting Georgia, 217. Sum- 
mons Indians to his aid, 217, 219, 
224. Asks aid from Carolina, 
218. Pursues Spaniards, 220. 
Takes Picolata and St. Francis, 
221. Narrow escape of, 221. 
Appeals again to Carolina foraid, 
223. Manifesto by, 224, 378. 
His descent into Florida, 224. 
His siege of St. Augustine, 239, 
381. Sick, 239. Abandons the 
enterprise, 239. Reflections on, 
240. Citations on, 241. His per- 
plexities, 244. Precautions by, 
245. Pursues Spanish vessels, 246. 
Solicits aid, 250, 251. Ventures 
to Cumberland Island, 250. Im- 
presses the "Success," 252. Con- 
duct of his engineer, 253. Aban- 
dons St. Simons, 254. Strength- 
ens Frederica, 254. Attacks the 
Spaniards, 256. Ambuscade and 
battle of Bloody Marsh, 257, 259. 
Makes promotions, 260. Per- 
plexed, 260. Plot of a Spanish 
officer against, 261. Plot of, 
against the Spanish, 264. Ad- 
vances to aid Fort William, 266. 
Appoints a Thanksgiving, 268, 
387. Congratulations to, 270. 
His descent upon Florida, in 
1743, 271. Wounded, 272. At- 



tacks Fort Diego, 272. His strat- 
agem against St. Augustine, 272. 
Returns to England, 273. Im- 
peached, 273, 288. Retires to 
Godalming, 278. Marries, 278. 
Major-General under Marshal 
Wade, 279. Services of, in sup- 
pressing the Rebellion of 1745, 
279, 283. Arraigned and acquit- 
ted, 284. Promotion of, 284 noie, 
285. Non-election of, to Parlia- 
ment, 285. Sir William Howe 
and, 286. Social life of, 286. 
His character, 290. His portrait, 
292 note. Last days and death of, 
296, 306. His library, 296 note. 
Epitaph on, 298. His " Account 
of Carolina and Georgia," 313. 

Orphan-House, 182. Foundation 
of, laid, 184. 

Ouechachumpa, speech by, 68. 

Oxford, Oglethorpe at 331, 334. 
Job's Arabic letter translated 
there, 26. 



Palachicolas Indians, 87. 

Palmer, Colonel, 229, 231, 380, 383, 
384. 

Palmetto ground, near Amelia Is- 
land, 140, 141. 

Parker, Henry, Governor, 200 note. 

Parliament, grant by, towards set- 
tling Georgia, 43, 48. See House 
of Commons. 

Peeper Island, 126. * 

Penn, Thomas, favors the Georgia 
colony, 66. 

Periagua, 138 note. 

Peterborough, Earl of, 3. 

Phillips, John, letter to, 91. 

Picolata, reconnoitred, 220. Taken, 
221. 

Planters, encouragement of. 210, 

Poor debtors. See Insolvent. 

Pope, Alexander, 9, 289, 292, 2:4, 
362. 

Porteous, John, Captain, 20, 22, 348. 

Port Royal Island, 54. 

Preston, march to, 283. 

Price, Vincent, Commodore, 223, 
231. 

Priests, " beloved men," 212 note. 

Prisons, investigation as to, 10, 340, 
343. 



INDEX. 



4^1 



Privateers against the Spanish, 216. 

Protestants. See Moravians and 
Saltzburgers. 

Public garden at Savannah, 62, 127. 

Pupa, Fort and Lake, 221, 225, 378. 

Purrysburgh,87. Deputation from, 
visits the Governor, 129 ; his re- 
ception there, 132. 

Pyke, Captain, 24, 26, 30, 31, 34. 

Q. 

Quartel], Point, 229, 237. 
Quincy, Samuel, Reverend, 85. 

R. 

Raynal, Abbe, cited, 48. 

Rebellion of 1745, 279. 

Religious toleration, 123. 

Reprisals, 215. 

Rhode Island, privateers from, 215. 

Richard, Major, mission of, to Flori- 
da, 133, 144. Serio-comic adven- 
ture respecting, 144. His return 
to Frederica, 147. Despatched 
to the Governor of St. Augustine, 
149. Arrested, 150. Sent back 
■w\ih an embassy, 151. 

Rosso, Don lo-natio, investigation 
by, 151. 

Royal African Company, 24, 33, 36. 

Ruiz. See Moral. 

Rum, 60, 115, 208, 214. 



S. 



St. Andrews, Fort, 139, 145, 152. 
Affray at, 194, 370. Spaniards 
at, 266. See Cumberland Island. 

St. Augustine, 120 note. Demp- 
sey's mission to, 132. English 
merchants ordered from, 187. 
Reinforced, 191. Indians de- 
coyed to, 200. Measures against, 
217, 218, 222, 224. Siege of, 
raised, 239, 381. Effects of the 
expedition to, 241. Spanish pri- 
vateer pursued to, and attacked, 
246. Don Manuel de Montea- 
no, Governor of, 249. Spanish 
ships there, 249. Spaniards re- 
turn to, 267. Stratagem against, 
in 1743, 272. See Florida, and 
Sanchez. 

St. Francis, Fort, taken, 221. 



St. John's River, 140, 141 note. Out- 
post at, 152. Cession as far as, 
213. Spaniards at, routed, 220. 
Mouth of, a place of rendezvous, 
224. Oglethorpe at, in 1743, 272. 
A division line, 316. 
St. Simons, bluff" and sea point of, 
80. Nev? town on the island of, 
81 note, 107. Arrival of emi- 
grants at, in 1739, 135. Works 
erected there, 136, 146, 152. In- 
dian delegations to, 138, 150. 
Arrival of Oglethorpe there, with 
troops and emigrants, 190. At- 
tack on, by the Spanish fleet, 252, 
254, 388. Fort at, dismantled 
and abandoned, 254. Works and 
houses on, burnt, 266. Arrival 
of ships at, from Carolina, 267. 
Fortifications there put in order, 
273. See Frederica. 
Saltzburgers, persecuted, 81. Asy- 
lum for, in Georgia, 82. Favors 
to the, 85. Their settlement, 66. 
Embarkations of, 120. Aban- 
don Ebenezer, 132. Indian dis- 
satisfaction with the, 150. Or- 
phan-house of the, 182. White- 
field's visit to the, 182. Histori- 
cal notice of the, 362, 365. 
Sanchez, Don Francisco del Moral, 
Captain General of Florida and 
Governor of St. Augustine, mis- 
sion and letter to, 132, 133. His 
reply, 145. Second mission to, 
149. Mission of Dempster to, 
1.57. Treaty with, 158, 186. De- 
mands evacuation of territory by 
Oglethorpe, 158. See Spaniards. 
Sand-flies, at Frederica, 176 note. 
Savannah, selected for settlement, 
54, 55. Public garden at, 62, 127. 
Wards and tithings in, 73. Ar- 
rival of Saltzburgers at, 84. 
Measures for chaplains at, 107. 
Arrival of Oglethorpe, emigrants, 
and missionaries at, 126. Im- 
provements there in three years, 
127. Plants there, 128. Mora- 
vians settle near, 130. Confer- 
ence at, on the Indian trade, 152. 
John Wesley at, 161, 177,178. 
Library sent to, 177. Delamotte 
at, 178, 180. Whitefield at, 180. 
Living of, presented to Whitefield, 
184. ^The General's visit to, 197. 



INDEX. 



Troubles there, 197. Indian visit 
to, 200. Address to the inhabi- 
tants of, 201. Oglethorpe's return 
to, 205. Dissatisfactions at, 206. 
Other visits to, 209, 210, 215. 
Privateers from, 215. Notices of, 
317, 318. 

Savannah River, exploration of the, 
54. Site for a town on the, select- 
ed, 54. Entered by the Saltz- 
burgers, 83. 

Scenawki, wifeof Tomo Chichi, re- 
ception of missionaries by, 164. 

Scotch, emigrate to Georgia, 115. 
At Darien, 116, 136. Under 
Captain Mackay, 138. At Fort 
Moosa, 234. See M'lntosli. 

Scout-boats, 367. 

Seal of the Trustees of Georgia, 40. 

Silk culture in Georgia, 41, 42, 51, 
346,391. 

Silk, encouragement of, 117. Shewn 
to the Queen, 117, 394. 

Slavery, of Job Solomon, 24. Stat- 
ute on, 102. 

Sloane, Sir Hans, and the African, 
Job, 28, 36. Sends Dr. William 
Houston, for medicinal plants, to 
the West Indies, 128. Zealous 
for Georgia, 129 note. 

Small-pox among the Indians, 96, 
214. 

Soldiers xm.y have wives, 189. 190. 

Solomon. See Job. 

South Carolina, conference with a 
Committee from, on trade with 
Indians, 152. See Carolina. 

Southey, Robert, 40, 167 note, 174. 

Spain, war declared against, 217. 

Spaniards, take measures to in- 
crease their forces, 151. Appre- 
hensions from, 186, 191, 196. 
Embarrass British trade, 216. 
Cruel, 216. Conduct of, at Ame- 
lia Island, 219. Pursuit of, 220. 
Attack Fort Moosa, 233. Cruel 
purposes of, 236. Watched, 245. 
Pursued, 246. Abandon eigh- 
teen Englishmen, 247. Design 
of, upon Georgia, 249. Made 
prisoners, 248, 255, 256. Invade 
Frederica, 255, 3H5. Stratagem 
against, 257. Defeated at Bloody 
Marsh, 2-59. Plot of the, 261. 
Dispirited, 262. Division among 
the, 263. Plot against the, 264. 



Repulsed at Fort William, 26G. 
Return of, to St. Augustine and 
Havana, 267. See St. Augustine. 

Sparks, Jared, letter from, 333. 

Spinosa, Diego, Seignior, owner of 
Fort IDiego, 226. 

Stair, Earl of. Field Marshal, 278. 

Stephens, William, Colonel, Secre- 
tary for the affairs of the Trus- 
tees, 199. Facts respecting, 199 
note. President of the Council 
and acting Governor, 200 note. 
On the mutiny in the camp and 
attempt at assassination, 369. 

Stevens, William B., M. D., 244, 
370. On the Silk Culture in 
Georgia, 391. 

Stewart, Alexander, Ensign, de- 
fence of Fort William by, 266. 

Sugar colonies, 14. 

Sutherland, Patrick, Lieutenant, 
258. Brigade Major, 260. Facts 
as to, 385. 

Swiss at Purrysburgh, 129. 

T. 

Tefft, I. K., 85 note, 264 note. 

Tench's Island, 53. 

Thanksgiving, 268, 387. 

Thomas, John, Captain, 119, 120. 

Thomson, James, cited, 342, 362, 
365. 

Thunderbolt, 80, 317. 

Tomo Chichi, interview and treaty 
with, 57, 58. Banished, 69. 
Speech by, 69. Goes to England, 
89, 91, 375. Speech by, to 
the kinoj, 95 ; to the Queen, 96. 
At an Indian burial, 96. Arch- 
bishop Wake and, 97. At Eton 
College, 98. Letter acknowledg- 
ing civilities to, 117. His wel- 
come of the Founder, 129. Mo- 
ravians seek the acquaintance of, 
130. Aids Captain Mackay, 133. 
Visits St. Simons, 138. Serio-com- 
ic adventure of, 142. At Frede- 
rica, ]47. Wants rules about 
trade, 153. Reception of mis- 
sionaries by, 162. Conferences 
of, with John Wesley, 164, 165. 
Condemns inconsistency of Chris- 
tians, 164 Visited by Whitefield, 
180. Scenawki, wife of, 180. 
Visits the General, 200. Anec- 



INDEX. 



423 



dote of, 360. Further particulars 
of, 373. 

Toonahowi, 89, 99, 129, 138. Names 
Cumberland Island, 139. Pre- 
sent at Whitefield's visit to Tomo 
Chichi, 188. In the St. Augus- 
tine expedition, 224. Incursion 
of, into Florida, 248. Wounded 
and exasperated, 256. Killed, 
378. 

Traders, complaints as to, 214. 

Trustees for settling and establish- 
ing the colony of Georgia, 39. 
Their seal, 40. Encouragements 
given by the, 43, 46. Written to, 
by Thomas Penn, 66. Recep- 
tion of Oglethorpe by, on his re- 
turn from Georgia, 92. Prohibit 
spirituous liquors, 101 ; slavery, 
101. Dr. Wilson's Manual dedi- 
cated to the, 104. Select new 
settlers, 113. On the Christian 
doctrines, 122. Rules for trade 
■with Indians proposed by them, 
153. Whitefield's services accept- 
ed by the, 180. Whitefield's 
reception by them, on his return, 
185. 

Turks, Prince Eugene's expedition 
against the, 4. 

Tybee, the beacon there, 125, 316. 



U. 



Uchee Indians, in Georgia, 59. 
Treaty with, 150. Land claimed 
by, 1.50. 'fhe General among 
the, 210. Notice of the, 368. 

Umpichi, 89,141. 

United Brethren. See Moravians. 

Urlsperger, Samuel, Elder of the 
Saltzburgers, 82. Cited, 83, 363. 

V. 

Vanderdussen, Alexander, Colonel, 
223. Joins Oglethorpe, 226. At 
the siege of St. Augustine, 229, 
382. Marches off, 239. Power 
given to, 379. 

Vernon, Admiral, despatched to the 
West Indies, 217. 

Von Reck, Philip George Freder- 
ick, 82, 85, 120. Desires a remo- 
■val from Ebenezer, 130. 



W. 

Wade, Marshal, 279 note. Suppres- 
sion of the Rebellion by, 280. 

Wake, William, Archbishop of Can- 
terbury, reception of Indians by, 
97. 

Walpole, Horace, 291. 

Warden, on the settlement of Geor- 
gia, 48. 

Warren, Sir Peter, 221. At Anas- 
tasia, 230. Foregoes an attack on 
St. Augustine, 238. 

Warton, Dr.,9, 289. 

Wesley, Charles, 108. Embarks 
for Georgia, 121, 171. Goes to 
St. Simons, 135 ; to Frederica, 
171. Meeting of Ingham and, 
171. Unpleasant situation of, 
171 , 1 72. Oglethorpe's demeanor 
towards, 173. Receives despatch- 
es, 174. Sails for England, 174. 
Puts into Boston, 175. Arrives 
in England, 176. Writes in Latin 
and Gl^eek, 176. Ingham's visit 
to John Wesley respecting, 177. 
Influence of, on Whitefield, 179. 
Poem by, to Whitefield, 179. 
Suggests an Orphan-House, 182. 

Wesley, John, 107, 108, 110. Em- 
barks for Georgia, 121. Anecdote 
of Oglethorpe and, 124. At Sa- 
vannah, 135, 161. Reception of, 
by Tomo Chichi, 163,164; by 
Scenawki, 164. Disappointed, 

165. Burton's letter to, cited, 

166. His zeal and personalities, 

167. Unpopular, 167 note, 168. 
Sophia Hopkins and, 168. Per 
secuted, 169. Returns to Eng 
land, 169. Visit to, by Ingham, 
respecting Charles Wesley, 177. 
His letter to Whitefield, 179. 

Wesley, Samuel, Reverend, 110, 
111. 

Wesley, Samuel, jr., poetry by. 111. 

Whitefield, George, 170. His men- 
tion of Ingham, 177. Interest of, 
in Georcria, 178, 179. Wesley's 
letter to, 179. Poem to, 179. 
Goes to Savannah, 180. Received 
by Delamotle, 180. Preaches, 
180. Sick, 180. Visits Tomo 
Chichi, 180. His ministerial la- 
bors, 181. His interest in an 
Orphan House, 182. Visits the 



424 



INDEX. 



Saltzburgers, 182. Visits Frede- 
rica and other places, 183. On 
the first settlers, 183. Returns 
to England, 184. Reception of, 
by the Trustees, 184. Presented 
with the living of Savannah, 184. 
Declines salary, 184. Returns 
and lays the foundation of the 
Orphan House, 184. On the 
Spanish evacuation of Florida, 

2m. 

Wiggan, William, 67. 

William, Fort, 139. Opposes Span- 
ish, 250. Reinforced, 251. De- 
fence of, by Stewart, 266, 390. 

Williamson, Mr., prosecutes John 
Wesley, 169. 



Wilson, Alexander, arraigned, 21. 

Wilson, Thomas, Bishop, Manual 
by, for the Indians, 104, 162. 
Cited, 104,106. 

Wilson, Thomas, Dr., letter to, 106. 

Wright, Sir Nathan, father of Mrs. 
Oglethorpe, 279, 305. 

Yale College, gifts to, 336. 

Yamacraw, 54. Residence of To- 
mo Chichi, 57. Missionaries in- 
vited to, 165. 



Zweitzer, Dr., 85, 86. 



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